Grab a book, any book.
Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it).
Post it.
 Add your (url) post below in the Linky at: www.fredasvoice.com
Add the post url, not your blog url.

The big garage door rose and rose, revealing black boots, silver-gray trousers, and she thought, The Wraith, it's the Wraith!

page 156, N0S4A2 by Joe Hill

  My Thoughts

Are you deeply afraid of snakes?

Me? Not at all, in fact, I have a surprising fondness for them. Just don’t get me started on spiders—I’m decidedly less enchanted by those little eight-legged monsters. Snakes, however, hold a special place in my heart, particularly when it comes to the genre of creature features. Among these, the 1997 film Anaconda reigns supreme in my cinematic library, a nostalgic flick featuring a young Jennifer Lopez, alongside Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Owen Wilson, Jonathan Hyde, Kari Wuhrer, Vincent Castellanos, and a cameo by the ever-memorable Danny Trejo.

I still remember the thrill of skipping school just to watch Anaconda the day it landed on VHS. A true escapade for an avid young moviegoer!

As a side note to the kids out there: please don’t follow my example.

Anaconda (PG-13; 89 minutes; originally retailing for $14.98) has recently been re-released on Blu-ray and DVD by Mill Creek Entertainment. This film previously received a Blu-ray release back in 2014, which I had the pleasure of reviewing on this very blog. (Take a look at my review here!)

Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @  Caffeinated Book Reviewer!

In the Mail

$24.95; 224 pages; AMAZON

Believe it or not, 2019 marks the 100th year for Ripley's Believe It nor Not!, which was originally created by the late Robert Ripley. To celebrate this grand mark in history Ripley Publishing (a Jim Patterson Company) has recently published 100 Best BIONS (Believe It Or Not Stories), featuring the greatest Ripley's Believe It Or Not! stories from the last 100 years.

100 Best BIONS is split into five chapters: Classics, People, Animals, World, and Exhibits. The stories presented here have either appeared or been featured in other Ripley's Believe It Or Not! books, television series, cartoons, or odditoriums over the years. Each story's article is accompanied by photos (black & white and color) and/or illustrations.

Within the pages of 100 Best BIONS you'll learn about the half-man John Eck, Thomas Wedders - the man with the 7 1/2 inches long nose, the 7 longhaired musician sisters from New York, Mike the headless chicken, and many other strange facts that are almost too unbelievable to be true.

Final Thoughts

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

It's time to take a trip back to 1978 (three years before I was born), the year when the psychological thriller Eyes of Laura Mars was released to theatres starring Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones,René Auberjonois, Brad Dourif, and Raul Julia!

Based on John Carpenter's eleven-page treatment, Eyes of Laura Mars was written for the screen by David Zelag Goodman and directed by Irvin Kershner. Faye Dunaway plays Laura Mars, a famous controversial fashion photographer who takes erotic photos of models in settings of graphic violence. What makes Laura Mars completely different than other photographers is that she has a psychic ability, giving her a mind's eyes (similar to looking through the lens of a camera). This is how she has been witnessing a series of brutal murders, which have inspired all of her gallery portraits.

Laura becomes a possible murder suspects after a police detective, John Neville (played by Tommy Lee Jones), discovers her portraits are very similar to real crime scene photographs. After ruling her out as a murder suspect, John begins to believe she has a sixth sense and will do anything to protect from the serial killer.

Eyes of Laura Mars (R; 104 minutes; $14.98) will be released on Blu-ray on May 14th by Mill Creek Entertainment. The only bonus extra is an Audio Commentary by Director Irvin Kershner.

Final Thoughts

Grab a book, any book.
Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it).
Post it.
 Add your (url) post below in the Linky at: www.fredasvoice.com
Add the post url, not your blog url.

Bing moved his hand across the pebbled leather. The polished cherry dash and the gearshift glowed.

page 56, NO24A2 by Joe Hill

  My Thoughts

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

Hopefully, I'm not the only one who's tired of the countless remakes and reboots of Robin Hood! Hollywood has milked the folk hero story to death!! And many of the recent takes on the character have been horrible.

Well, it's a good thing us fans can go back and watch the better versions (movies and television series) on DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital. Mill Creek Entertainment will be releasing The Adventures of Robin Hood: The Complete Series DVD Set ($34.98; 59hrs 33mins) on May 14th; which features all 143 episodes from the classic British series on 11 discs. There are no special features or bonus extras; though it does come with a Digital code that can be redeemed and streamed on Mill Creek Entertainment's website.

The Adventure of Robin Hood aired on ITV in the UK and on CBS here in the United States from 1955 to 1959. The series started Richard Greene as Robin of Locksley, a Saxon nobleman who returns home to Nottingham from the Crusades and quickly becomes an outlaw. He teams with the other Sherwood Forest outlaws and eventually becomes their leader (a.k.a. Robin Hood) by the end of the second episode. Along with Little John (played by Archie Duncan), Friar Tuck (played by Alexander Gauge), and their merry men, Robin Hood robs from the rich and gives back to the poor, as well as outrunning the Sheriff Nottingham (played by Alan Wheatley).

Other cast members included Bernadette O'Farrell as Maid Marian in Seasons 1 & 2, Patricia Driscoll as Maid Marian in Seasons 3 & 4, and Ian Hunter as Sir Richard of the Lea.

FYI: Richard Greene reprised his role as Robin Hood for the 1960 Hammer Film Productions' feature film  Sword of Sherwood Forest. It was basically a retelling of how Robin Hood met Maid Marian. None of the other cast members from the series returned.

Final Thoughts

AMAZON

It's been a busy and stressful year for me, which means reading hasn't been my top priority. Case in point, I'd received the historical fiction novel Between Two Shores by Jocelyn Green back in late January or early February (I don't remember the exact date!), and I attempted to read it several times. However, something always comes up and I end up putting it aside in favor of another title. I eventually took the time and read the book last month.

Set in Lachine, Island of Montreal, Quebec in 1759, the novel centers around Catherine Duval, the daughter of a French father and Mohawk mother, who must come to the aid of her ex-fiance, Samuel Crane, after he is captured by her father. He claims to have information that could help stop the war and asks her to help him escape.

Final Thoughts

Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @  Caffeinated Book Reviewer!

In the Mail

.

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

Here's a little fact about me: I'm a big of fan of Italian spaghetti westerns, especially the Man with No Name Trilogy starting Clint Eastwood, as well as The Call Me Trinity and Trinity Is Still My Name starring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer.

Over the past month, I've been watching the Outlaws & Con Men: 4 Movie Collection ($9.98; 5 hours 46 minutes), which was recently released on DVD + Digital by Mill Creek Entertainment. There are no special features or bonus extras on the DVD. The digital code can only be redeemed and streamed on the Mill Creek Entertainment's website.

The movies on the one-disc set include:

• Sting of the West (1974; PG; 92 minutes) - Directed by Enzo G. Castellari, the plot involves a young man named Tedeum (played by Giancarlo Prete) trying to sell the ownership of mine that he just inherited. A lot of things occur, and he eventually teams up with con man Buck Santini (played by Jack Palance) and two con ladies, Betty and Wendy (played by Mabel Karin and Francesca Romana Coluzzi), as they try to outrun the villainous Mr. Grant (played by Eduardo Fajardo). The film also goes by the title Tedeum.

• Bad Man's River (1971; PG; 87 minutes) - Directed by Eugenio Martín, the film centers around Roy (played by Lee Van Cleef), a leader of a band of outlaws who get suckered into destroying an arsenal owned by the Mexican Army; only to be setup by his ex-wife (played by Gina Lollobrigida). Roy and his pals must plan an elaborate scheme to outsmart the Mexican Army and steal a million dollars. The film also goes by the title El hombre de Río Malo.

• Django's Cut Price Corpses (1971; Not Rated; 84 minutes) - Directed by Luigi Batzella, the film stars Jeff Cameron as the bounty hunter Django, who heads into Mexico to rescue his fiance who has been kidnapped the Cortez brothers. The film also goes by the title A Pistol for Django.

• Django Shoots First (1966; Not Rated; 82 minutes) - Directed by Alberto De Martino, the film centers around Django (a.k.a. Ringo, played by Glen Saxon), a bounty hunter who kills the bounty hunter who'd killed his father. Confused yet? Instead of burying his father, Django collects the bounty on his father's deceased body. After learning his father was framed by a former business partner, Django goes on a quest to avenge his father's death and clam his rightful inheritance. The film also goes the title He Who Shoots First!.

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

At one point in my life, I would never take the time out to watch westerns from the 1940s and 1950s. Yes, that means I'm not a John Wayne fan; I'm more of a Clint Eastwood fan, which would explain why I own every season of Rawhide on DVD. Besides from John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, one of the biggest (or more recognizable) star of the western genre was Roy Rogers. Yep, the King of Cowboys, who appeared in over 100 movies and starred in his own television series from 1951 to 1957.

Why am I talking about Roy Rogers?

Well, over the last few nights I have been watching The Roy Rogers: Happy Trails Collection DVD Set ($19.98; Not Rated; 21 hrs 2 mins) that was recently released by Mill Creek Entertainment. It's basically a re-release of the Timeless Media DVD set that was released in 2010, but with a new artwork on the DVD jacket.

This release features 20 films from the "Happy Trails Theater" which aired on TNN in the late 1980s and was hosted by Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Cooper. There would be a short segment at the beginning (sometimes with a special guest), followed by a feature film, and then there would be a wrap up segment at the very ending. A few of the western guest stars included Gene Autry, Iron Eyes Cody, Pat Brady, Ruth Terry, Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr., and Pat Butram. The original running time for the films were shorten to fit within the 90-minute television spot with commercials! All the of the movies on the four-disc set are the edited versions, except for Cowboy and the Senorita, which doesn't have the "Happy Trails Theater" segments.

The film titles are:

• Sons of the Pioneers (1942; 62 minutes)
• Trigger, Jr. (1950; 64 minutes)
• Pals Of The Golden West (1951; 63 minutes)
• Young Bill Hickok (1940; 62 minutes)
• Don't Fence Me In (1945; 61 minutes)
• Down Dakota Way (1949; 62 minutes)
• The Golden Stallion (1949; 63 minutes)
• Man From Oklahoma (1945; 62 minutes)
• Rainbow Over Texas (1946; 62 minutes)
• Trail of Robin Hood (1950; 64 minutes)
• Sunset in El Dorado (1945; 63 minutes)
• North of the Great Divide (1950; 64 minutes)
• Bells of Coronado (1950; 63 minutes)
• South of Caliente (1951; 63 minutes) 
• In Old Amarillo (1951; 64 minutes)
• Along The Navajo Trail (1945; 61 minutes)
• Twilight in the Sierras (1950; 64 minutes)
• Susanna Pass (1949; 63 minutes)
• Spoilers of The Plains (1951; 62 minutes)
• Cowboy and the Senorita (1944; 77 minutes)

Bonus Features include:

• Roy Rogers Biography
• "Sidekicks" starring Gabby Hayes, Pat Brady, Pinkie Lee & more!
• Tour of the Roy Rogers Museum hosted by Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr. 

Final Thoughts