MOVIES THAT SEND YOU TO ZZZ ...

Dear readers, this week, Z is for ZZZ. Do movies send you to ZZZ or wake you up Zuddenly?

Like some of the following for instance ... with the greatest plot twists of all time.

(NB Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen them yet!) Btw Another slightly whimsical post, but life’s serious enough!

Some of the biggest movie shocks have to be among these:

1.Primal Fear (1996) – lawyers are terrible judge of character (above)

Stuttering altar-boy murder suspect, Aaron, suffers from multiple personality disorder with a violent sociopath alter-ego called Roy – and neither can remember what the other does. Slick Defence Attorney, Richard Gere, manages to get Aaron declared not guilty by means of insanity, only for Aaron to reveal he was faking multiple personality disorder – and that Roy is his true personality and that he committed the murder of the archbishop without the least remorse.

2. Soylent Green (1973) - you are what you eat  ... literally

                                          Soylent Green is .... human cadavers! 

3. Psycho (1960) – a boy’s best friend is his mother ...

                         Norman Bates dressed as his mother!

4.The Usual Suspects (1995) – the greatest trick the devil ever pulled...

                          Kevin Spacey’s character is actually the villain!

5. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) – Worst Dad ever?

                                 Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father!

6. Fight Club (1999) – don’t talk about the Fight Club, especially to yourself!

                         Ed Norton and Brad Pitt’s characters are the same person!

7. The Wicker Man (1973) – Sgt Howie is lured as a sacrifice

8. The Others (2001) – Nicole Kidman & family are ghosts

9. Planet of the Apes (1968) – we blew it up!

                                 Setting is planet Earth in the future!

10.The Sixth Sense (1999) – I am dead people...

                                 Bruce Willis’s character is in fact dead!

 ANY OTHER MOVIES YOU KNOW WITH PLOT TWISTS?

Do tell me! And do check out other posts  @ Jenny Matlock-Alphabe-Thursday, Monday Mellow Yellows,Macro Monday, Ruby Tuesday & Outdoor Wednesday.
And, finally, thank you to all my dear readers who visited or commented.

Enjoy!

XOXO NORA & LOLA:)

MOVIE OUTFITS ...

Dear readers, this week, Y is for *Y*OUR FAVOURITE MOVIE OUTFITS?

Are any of these *Y*our favourite outfits in movies – as previously voted in polls? A slightly whimsical post this time (and last) but maybe sometimes things just need lightening up!

       Olivia Newton John (Grease 1978, above)
       Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge 2001, below)

       Audrey Hepburn - as Holly Golightly, in black Givenchy gown (Breakfast at    Tiffany’s 1961)

  Keira Knightly (Atonement 2007)

  Marilyn Monroe (Seven Year Itch 1955)

       Ursula Andress (Dr No 1962)

       Kate Hudson (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, 2003)

       Audrey Hepburn (My Fair Lady 1964)

       Raquel Welch (One Million Years BC, 1966)

       Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex & The City 2008)

  WHICH OUTFITS DO YOU LIKE BEST/LEAST? ANY MOVIE BRING BACK SPECIAL MEMORIES?

Do tell me! And do check out other posts  @ Jenny Matlock-Alphabe-Thursday, Monday Mellow Yellows,Macro Monday, Ruby Tuesday& Outdoor Wednesday.
And, finally, thank you to all my dear readers who visited or commented.

Enjoy!

XOXO NORA & LOLA:)

LAS VEGAS HOTEL SUITES ...

Dear readers, this week, X is for X-CITING (OR EVEN X-RATED?) ... HOTEL SUITES ...

First, once again many thanks to all readers who helped my newly-published thriller, Retribution, which I wrote about here recently, become at the time of writing #39 in the crime/suspense category in Amazon.es's eBooks! And Soul Stealer #40. Woohoo, too, for Cudeca charity. (Full details in sidebar!)

Now where was I? Oh yes. Las Vegas! Now, everyone knows Las Vegas has some interesting, not to say *unusual* sights, not the least its hotel suites. How many do you find X-citing, not to say, hmmm, X-rated? Here’s an inside peek into some of the latest:

1.     The Palms – Barbie Suite (above) – a bit weird/spooky, don’t you think?

2.     Red Rock casino, Resort & Spa – Cherry Suite (below) – Hmmm ...

3.     And its Canyon Suite - nice view:

4.     Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Real World Suite - feel like some exercise?

5.     Paradise Tower- penthouse - décor's too masculine for my taste ...

6.     Mandarin Oriental – Mandarin Suite - the water looks sooo inviting! 

7.     Aria at Citycenter – Sky Villas - looks like the inside of a cruise liner!

FANCY STAYING IN ANY OF THESE SUITES?

Do tell me! And do check out other posts  @ Jenny Matlock-Alphabe-Thursday, Monday Mellow Yellows & Macro Monday, Ruby Tuesday.
And, finally, thank you to all my dear readers who visited or commented.

Enjoy!

XOXO NORA & LOLA:)

WORST OSCAR-WINNING MOVIES?

Dear readers, this week, ‘W’ IS FOR 10 *W*ORST OSCAR-WINNING MOVIES ...

In the opinion of some movie critics, there have been more deserving contenders over the past 50 years for winning an Oscar. What’s your take on the following Oscar-crowned movies? 



Did they merit their Oscar or should a rival nomination that year have won?

1 Gigi (1958) (above). Ever seen it? Or know anyone who's seen it?

Should have won? Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (above & below)? 

Starring Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie, with Paul Newman simmering with anger as Brick:

2 Crash (2005) with Susan Bullock etc:

Should have won? Brokeback Mountain? 
Ang Lee’s tale of gay cowboys in Wyoming:

3 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Should have won? Lost in Translation?

4 A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Should have won? Gosford Park? 
Robert Altman’s thoughts on the British class system:

5 Ordinary People (1980)

Should have won? Scorsese’s Raging Bull?

6 Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Should have won? Alexander Payne’s funny Sideways?

7 Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

Should have won? Giant?
Even longer but bravura performances from James Dean and Rock Hudson:

8 Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

Should have won? My Left Foot?

9 Chicago (2002)

Should have won? The Hours?

10 The English Patient (1996)

Should have won? Fargo?
The Coen brothers’ black comedy with Frances McDormand’s pregnant police chief:

ANY OTHER OSCAR-GARLANDED MOVIES THAT SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN?

Do tell me! And do check out other posts  @ Jenny Matlock-Alphabe-Thursday, Monday Mellow Yellows,Macro Monday, Ruby Tuesday, Rednesday & Outdoor Wednesday.
And, finally, thank you to all my dear readers who visited or commented.

Enjoy!

XOXO NORA & LOLA:)

NEW FOREST VENUES IN MY NEW THRILLER ...

Dear readers, this week *V* is for *V*ENUES - NEW FOREST *V*ENUES IN MY NEW THRILLER!

Now, those dear readers who have already downloaded Retribution will know that the protagonist, Alice, a London-based journalist, is back investigating the sudden, unexpected death of her closest childhood friend, Ellie, in an isolated, close-knit community. 

And the relentlessly chilling, life-changing consequences for those left behind, especially those searching for the truth behind this apparent suicide and ... subsequent deaths. As she peels back the layers of deception, Alice finds nobody is above suspicion and … Well, you really don’t want me to give away the ending, do you?!

But what I can reveal is the background, and inspiration, to the novel - the New Forest National Park, Hampshire (pictured above), and the main places that Alice visits. Here then are some images (hopefully this should soon be possible on Kindle – hopefully by the time of publication of the next in the series!)

So, follow Alice’s journey – as “seen” through her eyes!

The countryside near Alice’s cottage (left) at Bull Hill – with its nearby wild ponies and deer:

And its many bluebell-covered woods:

The pub, the Fleur de Lys, near Boldre (below, left) - where Tim and Alice meet for a drink in an early chapter:

Via Brockenhurst (right):

To Lyndhurst (below, left) – and its one-way traffic system - in the centre of the Forest:

Also the location of DI Neil Hunter’s workplace - 

Lyndhurst Police Station (right) -

opposite the Waterloo Arms, his local pub (right):

                                                

Other favourite pubs referred to in the novel:

The Queen’s Head, Burley (left, where Alice and Jim meet) near the village centre (right & below): 

The Borough Arms, Lymington (right) – favourite watering hole of cops from Lymington Police Station:

Views of Lymington (late summer, left) and autumn (right):

The ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight – a fatal journey ...

Local beauty spots Alice won’t have missed during her stay:

Exbury Gardens, belonging to a branch of the Rothschild family, situated in the village of Exbury:

...just to the southeast of Beaulieu (below, left) and Beaulieu river (right):

… and across the river from Bucklers Hard:

And finally, Rhinefield Ornamental Drive – with its redwoods ...

                                                                                             
Rhododendrons:

Beech trees:

And plentiful gorse and heather:

As you know, dear readers, all profits from the sale of my novels, The De Clerambault Code, Soul Stealer and Retribution go to the charity Cudeca - see sidebar opposite (www.cudeca.org)).

See sidebar or click HERE (Amazon UK), HERE (Amazon.com) and HERE (Goodreads) for reviews and further shameless self-promotion! Thanks so much for your support!

And do check out other posts  @ Jenny Matlock-Alphabe-Thursday, Monday Mellow Yellows,Macro Monday, Ruby Tuesday, & Outdoor Wednesday.

And, finally, thank you to all my dear readers who visited or commented.

Enjoy!

XOXO NORA & LOLA:)