31 DAYS OF COFFEE MUGS: Classic Movie Mug

With the announcement yesterday of the 2015 Academy Award nominations, I thought an Academy Award or Oscar themed coffee mug would be a good choice for day 16 in my series, the 31 DAYS OF COFFEE MUGS. Alas, I came up empty handed.

I searched then for a movie themed mug and came up with this classic movie quotes mug by The Unemployed Philosophers Guild, which I think is an appropriate choice for all of us who are caught up in the world of the movies, especially during Oscar season.

The mug contains more than 24 quotes.  I'll not name them all because that would ruin the fun but a few of the quotes that meant something to me are:

Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.
Hasta la vista, baby.
You're gonna need a bigger boat.
Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy ride.
You talkin' to me?

Can you name the movies that these quotes are from? If you love movies, I am going to bet that you can and that's just a bit of the fun your gift recipient will have when he opens this mug and tries to identify the movies that all of the quotes are from.  Conveniently, the answers can all be found on the bottom of the mug though you will want to be careful checking them when your mug is full. (More about how to use your mug tomorrow.)

This is an absolutely perfect mug for those who love trivia and who are obsessed with the movies. Does that sound like anyone you know?

Unfortunately, this mug is now retired. To see all of the other fun Unemployed Philosopher's Guild mugs available on Amazon click here. Alternatively, you can look for this one on eBay by clicking right here.

Brenda
Treasures By Brenda
You Never Know What I
Might Have in Store for You!

 

Movie Prop from Jumanji

We were fascinated to read yesterday about one of the original Jumanji game movie props selling at auction for a whopping $60,800 on eBay.  We know that movie props can command a lot of money but this sale seems pretty high for a "fake" game board that was used in a movie!

Jumanji started as a book by Chris Van Allsburg in 1995 and went on to  become a now-iconic movie starring Robin Williams.   My children enjoyed both but probably remember best the movie because it really brought to life the story...and because they eventually owned a copy of the Jumanji board game.  

Almost twenty years later, the board game is still a sought-after game that sells regularly on eBay from $30 to over $100, depending on condition and completeness. Right now, a brand-new copy of the game goes for $175 on Amazon.com.

Are you a Jumanji fan? Would you like to see a remake of the movie Jumanji?

Brenda
Treasures By Brenda
You never know what
I might have in store for you!

Quick Links:

Learn more about the Jumanji game.
Check out the new, used and vintage board games in my eBay store.

The Official Oscars App

Of course, there's an app for almost everything these days. This morning I accidentally tripped across the Official Oscars App although I haven't been able to check it out because it is not available in Canada. 

So, if you are in the U.S., you will be able to enjoy The Official Oscars App. It allows you to partake in the whole process, from the Academy Award nominations to the Oscar presentations, though of course we are awfully close to the actual Acadamy Awards date of February 24, 2013 so you won't have as long to enjoy it as you might have if we had discovered this app sooner. 

The app offers you information about the movies including the official trailers. You will be able to watch programs about the films, the actors and the fashions.  I think that the best feature will be the opportunity in 'My Picks' to cast a ballot for your favorite movies and see how you score when the results are in.

You can see how the Official Oscars App works in this short Youtube trailer:
 

The Oscars App is available for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch from the iTunes store or for your Kindle or Android device from Amazon and it is FREE.

 

See you

at the movies!

Quick Links:

Download the Oscars App for your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.
Download the Oscars App for your Kindle or Android device.
This year's Academy Award Best Picture nominations.

 

 

Not Really Scary Movies For Halloween

In advance of Halloween, I know that a few of you are looking for a good scary movie that's not quite so scary so I thought I would give you a few to consider.  These recommendations are all based on pages that I have written on other blogs and websites. By following any of the underlined links, you will be able to read more about each of the movies.

Starting with scary movies for tweens, you might want to consider my list, Not Too Scary Movies For Tweens or Pre-Teens on Halloween on which you will find six movies that are appropriate for tweens.

On that list, you will find one of the best best Blu-ray movies of 2009, the 3D stop motion movie, which is suitably eerie,  Coraline.

You might also check out Under Wraps, a lesser-known cult-favorite Disney movie. If you don't enjoy watching dated footage, you will not want to watch this one but if you can put those concerns aside, you might have fun with this movie.

Audrey Hepburn's Wait Until Dark is an excellent choice for those of us who like psychological thrillers. This is one to watch with the lights out, exactly as they did when this Audrey Hepburn movie first aired in the movie theatres in the 1960s.

Then there is Oliver's Ghost, a Hallmark Halloween movie. Nothing about Hallmark can be too scary, can it?

I hope you find an interesting scary movie choices for your Halloween viewing...and I'd love to hear your recommendations, particularly for scary movies that are thrillers rather than horror movies.

Brenda
Music and Movie 

Treasures By Brenda

The Charlie Brown Valentine Television Special

Recently, I watched the classic children's television program by Charles Schulz featuring all of the Peanuts gang.  I don't know when I last saw it, but I had definitely forgotten what happened to Charlie Brown in this television special.

Do you know what happened? How'd it make you feel?  My bottom jaw hung open for literally minutes. I honestly could not believe that those kids were that mean.

If you've seen the special and know what happened to Charlie Brown, I'd love to hear what you thought. 

Are you ready?  Seems like it was just Christmas but Valentine's Day IS coming and it is coming quickly!

Brenda

Quick Link:

Buy the Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown television special. 

Hallmark Hall of Fame and Lifetime Original Christmas Movies

Laid low with the flu and a cold two weeks before Christmas was just not great. However, I did manage to watch three Christmas movies during that time.

It's not too late. If you're looking for a heart-warming Christmas movie, you might want to check one of these out. I did and I enjoyed them all.

Hallmark Hall of Fame's A Dog Named Christmas Movie - This is a brand-new Hallmark movie that was just released for Christmas 2009.  It aired once and is now available for purchase from Amazon by clicking here. A great family-friendly story.

Hallmark Entertainment's A Boyfriend For Christmas - I called this one a light-hearted romantic comedy.  It is family friendly, a bit on the 'chick flick' side. Click here to buy A Boyfriend for Christmas from Amazon.

Lifetime Original's Comfort And Joy Christmas Movie - A highly sought after movie, this one flew off the shelves of my eBay store this fall.  I finally opened a copy to watch it myself and see what the fuss was all about and I wasn't disappointed. Turns out it was another wonderful romantic comedy. Click here to buy Comfort and Joy from Amazon.

Although the last two movies can be called romantic comedies, there is nothing offensive in either of them for family viewing.  You just might be hard pressed to get your teenage guys to watch any of them with you. (I certainly was!)

Brenda
Treasures By Brenda
You Never Know What I
Might Have in Store For You!

An American In Paris Blu-ray Review

An American in Paris was once called 'The Perfect Film.' It shared the honour with the film Citizen Kane. It eventually won six Oscars, including those for Best Picture, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Music and Writing. Sounds pretty close to a perfect film to me! Last weekend, we watched it and I was more than suitably impressed. The film is stunning and I'm not the only one to think so.

To read what else I thought about the movie and what the real blu-ray experts have to say, visit my page, An American in Paris Blu-ray Review.   

To order the movie from Amazon.com, you can click right here to see both the blu-ray and DVD versions.

As I finished writing this page tonight, I realized that I have yet to watch the special features. I'll have to report back on them!

Meanwhile, thanks for dropping in.
Brenda
Treasures By Brenda