If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth!

When you enter a contest or request a book, how do you keep track of what the books are? or perhaps you don't keep track and just remember what you entered or requested? (submitted by Elizabeth)

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

I should keep tracking of all my requests by writing them in a notebook, but I don't. If I can't remember a specific request, I go back and check my email 'sent' file/box to see what I have requested to review.

It may seem like a controversial statement, but in my ever so humble opinion the most interesting films released in the past decade have not been produced by the Hollywood big wigs or even the esteemed UK indie filmmakers, but further afield in Korea, Japan and continental Europe. And yet for so many, the world of subtitled entertainment remains closed off due primarily to sheer, old fashioned stubbornness. A common argument is that watching a subtitled film or show feels “A little like reading a book,” but this argument is completely void, as minutes into any good film, a strong reader will cease to notice that they're even watching the subtitles and will simply fall into the story and the characters. In fact, if you are still actively aware of the fact that you're reading the subtitles, then it's either a bad film or a bad translation.

Western audiences have not always been so hesitant to the idea of foreign cinema of course. In the 60's, cinema was still very much in its infancy and as such, there wasn't the sheer choice we have today. There was none of the reverse snobbery you might find today, so great cinematic masters like Fellini and Kurosawa ruled the screen and the Oscars were rife with films 'not in the English language'. It's only really in the last few decades that subtitled films have fallen out of favour with the masses and it's a real shame. What with the global box office success of the 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' films, however, that trend appears to be reversing. Below I'll take you through some of the films and shows that introduced me to subtitled entertainment; hopefully they can do the same for you.

As many of my blog readers already know, I not the biggest fan of books set during WWII, as I prefer books set in the 1800s. Nevertheless, I still signed up to review A Promise in Pieces by Emily T. Wierenga, which is the latest entry in the Quilts of Love Series. I have read a few of the other books in the series, which a few have been set during WWII, and I have enjoyed reading each one.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Director: Ben Stiller
Starring: Ben Stiller,  Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Sean Penn
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: April 15, 2014
Retail: $39.99
ASIN: B00H7KJTCG
Running Time: 114 minutes
Rating: PG

Review:

Available to own on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The DVD bonus features include Behind-the-Scenes of The Secret of Walter Mitty and a Still Gallery. The special features on the Blu-ray include Pre-viz, The Look of Life, deleted scenes, extended scenes, alternate scenes and the music video "Stay Alive" by Jose Gonzalez.


The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is loosely based on the 1939 short story of the same name written by James Thurber and is a remake of the1947 classic starring Danny Kaye in the lead role. In the 2013 version, Ben Stiller directs and stars as the main character, Walter Mitty, a negative assets manager for Life magazine.

Walter hasn't done much with his life, besides for being a good son to Edna (played by Shirley MacLaine) and a big-brother to wannabe-actress, Odessa (played by Kathryn Hahn). He spends most of his time daydreaming, which in reality to everyone else, he is actually "zoning out" or staring into space. He has a bit of a crush on a fellow employee, Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig). He even creates a profile on eHarmony, as he had overheard that Cheryl had a profile on there, but he has never gotten around to sending her a "wink."

Life magazine is downsizing and will become an online magazine, so the soon-to-be-released issue will be its last. Photojournalist Sean O'Connell (played by Sean Penn) had sent his latest reel of film for the magazine to Walter, with the negative 25 going to be the cover for the final issue, but there is one little problem - the negative is missing.

Revenge of the Nerds
Director: Jeff Kanew
Starring: Timothy Busfield, Robert Carradine, Curtis Armstrong, Andrew Cassese, Anthony Edwards
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Retail: $14.99
ASIN: B00IXD2MMU
Running Time: 90 minutes
Rating:  R

Review:

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is releasing the 1984 box-office smash comedy Revenge of the Nerds on Blu-ray for the first time on Tuesday, May 6, 2014.

Special Features include I'm a Nerd, and I'm Pretty Proud Of It; deleted scenes; Revenge of the Nerds TV Pilot; commentary by Director Jeff Kanew and actors Robert Carradine, Timothy Busfield and Curtis Armstrong; and the original theatrical trailer.

Before there was the American Pie teen comedy and its countless sequels, there were many teen/college rated R comedies being released in the 1980s, including the 1984 Revenge of the Nerds starring Robert Carradine as  Lewis Skolnick and Anthony Edwards as Gilbert Lowe, best-friends, nerds, who have just arrived at Adams College. The start of the freshman year hits a snag when the fraternity, The Alpha Betas, take over their dorm and tosses them, along with a few other freshman,o out.

The Alpha Betas' frat house had burned to the ground, which is reason why they took over the dorm, leading the college no other choice, but to allow fraternities to take in the freshman, but Lewis and Gilbert have a slight problem - no fraternity will accept nerds.

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth!

When you receive a book in the mail or from UPS, do you immediately catalog it or leave the books stacked up until the week is up and then catalog them?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

Typically, I stack the books in order that they need to be read in or by the blog tour date. When I receive DVDs/Blu-rays, I stack them by their release dates. I never catalog anything; though I do set up a post draft with the basic stuff (cover image, title, author bio, buy link, etc.) before I start my review.

Great Expectations
Director: Mike Newell
Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Holliday Grainger
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: April 15, 2014
Retail: $29.99
ASIN: B00IEXX2RI
Running Time: 128 minutes
Rating: PG-13

Review:

Arriving on Blu-ray for the first time in the United States is the 2012 film adaption of Charles Dickens' classic tale Great Expectations. The film was directed by Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and stars Jeremy Irvine, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and Holliday Grainger. Special Features include the Great Expectations Premiere and trailers.

Great Expectations first appeared in the periodical All the Year Round in 1860, as a weekly serial until August 1961. Chapman and Hall published the novel in three volumes in October 1861. At the time the novel received mixed reviews from critics, but it is now considered a classic and is a recommend read for most high school and college literature classes.

There has many film adaptions, mini-series and spin-offs based on Great Expectations over the years, the only one I had ever seen before reviewing this Blu-ray was the 1998 contemporary version starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke, which in my opinion wasn't a very good film.

Many of you probably have never heard of the 2012 version of the classic tale and there is a good , reason, as it only appeared at the BFI London Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, followed by a limited release in the UK. The film has finally made its way to the United States, but only on DVD and Blu-ray.

I Dream of Jeannie: Seasons 1 & 2
Starring: Barbara Eden, Larry Hagman
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Retail: $14.98
ASIN: B00I099K4K
Running Time: 25 hours and 48 minutes
Rating: Not Rated

Review:

Arriving on DVD last month from Mill Creek Entertainment is Seasons One and Two of the classic sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, which the seasons can be purchased individually or as a Two Season Combo Pack.

 I Dream of Jeannie aired from 1965 to 1970; producing 139 episodes during its five season run. The series centered on Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson (played by the late Larry Hagman), an astronaut, who stumbles upon a unique bottle when his one-man capsule lands in the South Pacific. He gets a big shock when he opens the bottle and a 2,000-year-old genie, Jeannie (played by Barbara Eden), pops out of it.

In the fairy tales, genies typically gives you three wishes, but that is not the case for Major Nelson, whom is permanently stuck with Jeannie, even though he had wished for her to be free. He returns home in Florida, where he is looking forward to seeing his fiance, a general's daughter. Jeannie is already in love with Major Nelson and is determined to interfere with his relationship. Note: the fiance character was dropped after the pilot.

After the pilot, the series focused on Major Nelson, along with his pal Major Healey, covering up what antics or whatever trouble Jeannie has gotten herself into, in fear that NASA would learn that she is a genie.

The 61 episodes on the six disc set are:

Transformers: Energon: The Complete Series
Studio: Shout! Factory
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Retail: $44.99
ASIN: B00HRUQAKU
Running Time: 1167 minutes
Rating: Not Rated

Review:

The Transformers franchise is expanding this year with the fourth Michael Bay feature film, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and the untitled, brand-new animated series. Until then fans will have to settle on the Shout! Factory's seven-disc DVD set of Transformers: Energon: The Complete Series, featuring all 51 episodes.

Transformers: Energon is a Japanese computer-generated animated that aired during the 2004-2005 season and is set ten years after Transformers: Armada. There has been peace between the Autobots and Decepticons ever since the deaths of Megatron and Unicron, but a new evil is about to the unleashed upon Cybertron.

The mysterious Alpha Q releases the Terrorcons on the Autobots' Cybertron cities, which the little terror bots are collecting Energons. Alpha Q creates a new robot called Scorponok, who will gather all the remaining Decepticons on Earth and lead a new army against the Autobots. Of course Megatron is resurrected (again) and has his own agenda against the Autobots.

To battle this new threat, Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots must once again use the help from the humans to defeat this new threat.

The episodes on the seven-disc set are: