tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38817742024-03-19T04:48:40.665-04:00Hamlette's Soliloquy...revealing my thoughts about movies, writing, and life to the audience...Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.comBlogger1728125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-75045522933734304782024-03-14T16:21:00.002-04:002024-03-14T16:24:33.127-04:00Upcoming Book ReleasesYes, that title is plural for a reason! I have several new releases and rereleases in the works for 2024, and it is long past time for me to be talking about them here. Life has been kinda... extra... the last couple of months, and things like blogging have gotten shoved to the back burner a bit. Part of that mayhem has been that I have a LOT of book projects I'm working on all Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-7691106188314144132024-03-02T15:24:00.002-05:002024-03-02T15:24:12.378-05:00Movie Music: Rachel Portman's "Chocolat" (2000)Here I am again, ready to discuss more movie music with you. I really enjoy Rachel Portman's movie scores. Her music for both Chocolat (2000) and Emma (1996) make me happy and are particularly great for listening to when I feel like listening to something sprightly, but with a pang of melancholy here and there. I reviewed the Emma soundtrack a while ago, so today, I'm goingHamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-60173312823585402232024-02-24T12:58:00.000-05:002024-02-24T12:58:13.524-05:00Winners of the Sibling Stories Giveaway + Wrap UpAnd now, the post you've all been waiting for, right? Prize One: A set of three Little Women bookmarks -- SummerPrize Two: One vinyl sticker featuring the Pevensie siblings -- Eva C.Prize Three: A paperback copy of Sense and Sensibility -- Lydia H.Prize Four: A paperback copy of The Outsiders -- Chloe the MovieCriticPrize Five: A "Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-88663765747113818492024-02-24T08:10:00.001-05:002024-02-24T08:10:40.242-05:00Answers to the Sibling Movie Poster GameHere are the answers to the second game :-) Scores are below! Interestingly, absolutely no one guessed the Defiance (2008) poster (#10), which makes me a little sad because that is an amazing movie based on such an inspiring true story. If you're curious about it and want to learn more, I reviewed it here a couple years ago.#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10#11#12ScoresJenni Sauer Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-66827891803605176912024-02-24T08:08:00.000-05:002024-02-24T08:08:34.600-05:00Answers to the Missing Sibling Names QuizHere are the answers to the first game! Scores are below.1. Eomer and Eowyn (The Lord of the Rings)2. Adam, Hoss/Eric, and Little Joe (Bonanza)3. John, Wendy, and Michael Darling (Peter Pan)4. Isa, Jessie, Oliver, Hyacinth, and Lacey Vanderbeeker (The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street)5. Bofur and Bombur (The Hobbit) [Bifur is their cousin, actually.]6. Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-82769154524846667632024-02-22T12:14:00.002-05:002024-02-22T12:15:40.238-05:00The Sibling Stories Tag -- My AnswersTime to answer my own tag :-) If you haven't done it yourself yet, you can get a clean copy of the questions on the party kickoff post.1. Do you have any siblings? Yes, I have one brother who is five years younger and four inches taller than I am. We were very close when we were growing up, once he got to be about 7 years old and interesting enough for me to want to play with Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-76197654559073695502024-02-21T15:07:00.007-05:002024-02-21T15:14:21.637-05:00Sibling Movie Poster GameLet's get the second party game started :-) This time, I've given you 12 posters from movies about siblings. But I have removed their titles! Your job? Supply the titles, of course. Put your guesses in a comment, and I'll post the answers and your scores at the end of the week.And, of course, googling for things is kinda cheating, so... try to restrain yourself ;-)#1Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-67308564365805920472024-02-20T08:46:00.002-05:002024-02-20T08:47:18.716-05:00Missing Sibling Names QuizTime for our first game! Here are 15 sets of siblings from movies, books, and literature. Your job? Supply the missing sibling name for each family! Put your guesses in a comment.1. Eomer and _______ (The Lord of the Rings)2. Adam, ______, and Little Joe (Bonanza)3. John, Wendy, and ________ Darling (Peter Pan)4. Isa, Jessie, Oliver, __________, and LaceyHamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-6722936926895422232024-02-19T09:13:00.002-05:002024-02-19T09:13:29.762-05:00We Love Sibling Stories Week -- Kickoff Post + TagHello! Welcome to We Love Sibling Stories Week, a five-day-long party where we can gather to celebrate, recommend, and discuss our favorite stories about siblings in books, movies, and shows.Whenever you create a post for this event on your own site, please drop a link in this widget:And don't forget to read posts by other people! That's an essential part of a party, after all -- chatting Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-23078067726285134422024-02-19T09:12:00.001-05:002024-02-19T09:14:24.955-05:00We Love Sibling Stories Week -- The GiveawayWho doesn't like to go home from a party with a little gift? I'm afraid I can't send every one of you a tangible party favor, but I CAN send prizes to seven of you. And here those prizes are:I had such fun collecting these for this event! Here are some closer looks at the prizes, plus information about them:Prize One: A set of three Little Women bookmarks that I Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-84932185890089634372024-02-17T21:15:00.002-05:002024-02-18T18:48:50.726-05:00"Chicago Deadline" (1949)On the surface, Chicago Deadline (1949) feels rather akin to Laura (1944). In Laura, a police detective becomes obsessed with learning everything he can about a beautiful dead woman and the people who were part of her life. In Chicago Deadline, a newspaper reporter becomes obsessed with the same basic thing. The ending goes quite differently from Laura, and I think Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-70936221691189591022024-02-10T16:22:00.001-05:002024-02-10T16:22:42.208-05:00A Renaissance Cinderella: "Ever After" (1998)The summer before I left for college, my three friends and I went to see Ever After (1998), the last movie we ever saw together in a theater. After that summer, we were never all four together again. Life took us our separate ways, and I’ve lost all contact with one of those girlhood friends, though I see the other two once in a while. But at the very end of July, 1998, we were still friends, Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-26103788221185149322024-01-28T07:42:00.001-05:002024-01-28T07:42:03.117-05:00My Ten Favorite Movies About WritersMy being a writer probably explains my fondness for movies about writers. Today, I'm sharing the list of my ten favorite movies about or involving writers -- some authors of fiction, some screenwriters, some columnists or newspaper reporters, but all writers!1. Laura (1944) While solving the murder of beautiful Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), Detective Mark McPherson (Dana Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-88823474625237629242024-01-27T08:19:00.011-05:002024-01-29T20:55:18.605-05:00The On the Job Blogathon is Here!Join us all weekend long as we celebrate the daily grind, the nine-to-five, the salt mines... people's jobs, in other words! Drop the link to your post in a comment here or on Quiggy's post at The Midnite Drive-In, and then check out the fun contributions everyone is sharing.ContributionsReview of The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1983)Realweegiemidget ReviewsReview of Gung Ho (1986)Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-2628898675822057902024-01-27T08:11:00.002-05:002024-01-27T09:46:58.311-05:00"Support Your Local Sheriff" (1969)I remember the first time my family rented Support Your Local Sheriff (1969). It would have been sometime in 1993, I'm pretty sure. When we moved to North Carolina in 1992, we discovered that a local video store had an amazing selection of old movies, including a huge number of westerns. Every weekend, we would rent an old movie to watch together as a family -- and I was inHamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-82092371828646647612024-01-15T17:02:00.016-05:002024-02-16T19:23:50.419-05:00Announcing We Love Sibling Stories WeekThis announcement is about a week later than I had planned to make it, so I hope you haven't been worried that I wasn't going to host some kind of blog party in February! Fear not -- I have such a fun event planned: We Love Sibling Stories Week!So many of my favorite movies, books, and shows involve siblings. The endless variety of sibling dynamics fascinates me, and it always Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-88516523272523727882024-01-05T15:37:00.000-05:002024-01-05T15:37:41.159-05:00Quiet Gallantry: General Joshua Lawrence ChamberlainI was in my early teens when they released the movie Gettysburg (1993). My family rented it as soon as it hit the local video store. We settled down for a deeply moving, relatively accurate depiction of the battle at Gettysburg that turned the tide of the American Civil War in favor of the Union. The film more than exceeded my family’s the expectations and mine in particular. It introduced Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-58020796170878587042024-01-01T08:45:00.002-05:002024-01-01T08:45:55.220-05:00My Ten Favorite New-to-Me Movies of 2023Here we are at the end of another year, the assigned time for rounding up lists of favorites in various categories. I'll be posting my favorite reads from 2023 on my book blog on Tuesday, but today, it's time to talk about my top ten favorite movies I saw for the first time over the past year!1. Fort Dobbs (1958) A man on the run from the law (Clint Walker) rushes a pioneer woman (Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-12654333805083437612023-12-29T17:57:00.004-05:002023-12-29T18:01:53.707-05:00"The Boys in the Boat" (2023)Y'all know I am not sporty. I've never been on a sports team, I've never followed a sports team, and I probably never will. I enjoy watching live sporting events, and I've enjoyed watching various Olympic events over the years. But I don't really love sports. You know what I do love, though?Movies about sports featuring underdogs.Man, I am all over those! The NaturalHamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-87111721873435249182023-12-25T19:53:00.002-05:002023-12-25T19:54:09.660-05:00Merry Christmas to You!I hope you have been enjoying a joyful Christmas. It's been so quiet and lovely here -- went to church in the morning, baked a pie after lunch, read a book and built Legos with my kids and took a nap, then had a lovely feast. Just now, we took a "Christmas lights walk," a yearly tradition where we walk around our neighborhood enjoying everyone's outdoor decorations.If you're looking Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-74408377028234599132023-12-17T19:31:00.005-05:002023-12-18T23:18:38.295-05:00"Fort Dobbs" (1958)This is far and away my favorite new-to-me movie of 2023. I've watched it five times since discovering it early in the summer. I would have watched it more than that if my movie time wasn't so limited these days. It absolutely delights me! By the way, I am not going to mark spoilers here. I tried, but it just got silly. You've been warned. I really Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-66650287922911635032023-12-04T07:01:00.015-05:002024-01-10T12:24:08.302-05:00Announcing the On the Job BlogathonMy friend Jim (aka Quiggy) of The Midnite Drive-In and I (aka Hamlette) are getting down to business again. We've planned a new blogathon for you to enjoy in the new year, one that centers on work! Jobs, work, business, vocations, callings, and all that sort of thing.Join us January 27 and 28 as we celebrate movies that involve what people do for a living. Office workers, Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-48812556731701618492023-12-03T17:15:00.004-05:002023-12-03T19:38:22.673-05:00"The Hound of the Baskervilles" (1959)This will never be my favorite adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles by A. Conan Doyle (so, fear not, Jeremy Brett!), but it also will never be my least-favorite (sorry, Basil Rathbone). I enjoy this one pretty well, enough to own a copy of it and have watched it more than once. The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of my top five favorite books of all time. Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-1019578344832341022023-11-27T08:45:00.001-05:002023-11-27T08:45:13.714-05:00Movie Music: Alexandre Desplat's "The Monuments Men" (2014)I think The Monuments Men (2014) is a lovely movie, if you can ever call a movie about war "lovely." It feels like a throwback to classic WWII films from the 1960s, like The Great Escape (1963) and The Guns of Navarone (1963). Alexandre Desplat's soundtrack also hearkens back to the movies of that era, and it has become one of my favorite scores to write to. The first track I'm Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-27944175975475714082023-11-23T14:23:00.001-05:002023-11-23T15:06:42.079-05:00Giving ThanksI give thanks to the Lord that he became my heavenly Father when he called me to be his child and sealed me as part of his eternal family through the waters of Baptism.I give thanks to the Lord that he has revealed his name to us. He is not a nameless god that makes us guess his name, or even guess whether or not he exists. He is the great I Am. He tells us everything we need toHamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2