Book Review: The Marriage Manifesto

I'm now writing book reviews over at Quiet Publications.  I was just getting ready to cross-post my second review when I realized that I neglected to cross-post my first one.  Oops!

So without further ado, here is a link to my review of The Marriage Manifesto by Kelly M. Flanagan, PhD.  I'll provide a link to my second review in a week or so (though it's there now, if you want to read it).

In his first e-book, Dr. Kelly Flanagan addresses how the consumerism that shapes modern life infects and damages marriages as well.  Using examples from his personal life and popular culture, Flanagan clearly outlines what the reader can expect in the preface and introduction.  His first two chapters frame his argument nicely and provide realistic expectations for people who are looking for help with their marriages.  He also provides advice for those who feel they are in abusive relationships, and recommends a course of individual—opposed to marital—therapy.  Flanagan is careful to affirm the inherent worth of the individual regardless of whether the marriage ultimately thrives or fails.

That affirmation of the individual’s inherent worth, along with a call for acceptance of one’s imperfections (both one’s own and one’s spouse’s) is the strongest message of the remaining chapters, even stronger than the threat from consumerism in marriage.  (Continue reading.)

Top 100 Movies

So another meme is making its way around the blogosphere, and in the absence of anything compelling of my own to publish, I thought I'd jump on this bandwagon too.

As the title of this post suggests, this is a list of my favorite 100 movies.

Only I couldn't quite come up with 100 movies I can call my favorite.  Sure, there are more than 100 movies that I've enjoyed, but for a movie to make my list, it needs to be  a) something that I still want to watch today,  b) something that I'm badgering my husband to watch with me, or  c) something that will be built into my kids' homeschooling curriculum.  So to all those childhood and adolescent favorites--if I haven't spent the money to include you in my personal collection and I haven't put you in my Netflix queue, then thanks for the memories, but I've moved on, and I hope you will too.

Since my eyes tend to glaze over when confronted by a long list, I've broken it up by genre.  Other than that, they're in alphabetical order (not because I'm really that anal, but because I accidentally sorted by the wrong column on the Excel spreadsheet where I prepared this.  Because, yes, I am that anal).  Trilogies are listed as a single entry, even when I'm omitting one of the installments.

I've begun with the movies that tend to show up on a lot of people's top 100 lists.

EMBRACE THE CLICHE
1. Back to the Future Trilogy
2. Casablanca
3. Contact
4. Gone With the Wind
5. Indiana Jones (Original Trilogy - NOT the latest travesty from 2008)
6. It's a Wonderful Life
7. Lord of the Rings Trilogy
8. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
9. Star Wars (Original Trilogy)
10. The Princess Bride
11. The Sixth Sense
12. Wizard of Oz

MUSICALS
13. A Chorus Line
14. Annie (1982)
15. Fiddler on the Roof
16. Labyrinth
17. Little Shop of Horrors
18. Mary Poppins
19. Oliver!
20. Sound of Music
21. Sweeney Todd (1982)
22. West Side Story
23. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

CHICK FLICKS (I can't believe I have so many in this category!)
24. A Room With a View
25. Bridget Jones' Diary
26. Far and Away
27. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
28. Romancing the Stone (first one only)
29. Shakespeare in Love
30. Terms of Endearment
31. Titanic
32. Under the Tuscan Sun
33. While You Were Sleeping

DRAMA
34. 28 Days
35. A Beautiful Mind
36. Forrest Gump
37. Out of Africa
38. Sleeping with the Enemy
39. The Color Purple
40. The Shawshank Redemption
41. White Nights

COMEDY
42. Clue
43. Foul Play (1978)
44. Much Ado about Nothing
45. My Cousin Vinny
46. The Court Jester
47. Victor / Victoria

KIDS (only half of these have been added since I had kids of my own; the rest have stood the test of time!)
48. A Christmas Story
49. Freaky Friday (1976)
50. The Incredibles
51. The Parent Trap (1961)
52. Toy Story 3
53. Wall-E

DIFFICULT (these aren't movies to be 'enjoyed' per se, but are important and should be watched at least once; some of them I've seen only once, and hope to never see again)
54. A Time to Kill
55. American History X
56. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight
57. Platoon
58. Saving Private Ryan
59. Schindler's List

CLASSICS (not already listed under another category)
60. Auntie Mame
61. Yours, Mine and Ours (1968)

ACTION
62. Hunt for Red October
63. Matrix (just the first one)
64. Terminator (1 and 2 only)
65. True Lies

HUBBY'S LIST (movies my husband thinks should be on this list even though I haven't actually seen them yet)
66. 1984
67. A Clockwork Orange
68. Blade Runner
69. Citizen Kane
70. Dr. Strangelove
71. Enemy Mine
72. Farenheit 451
73. Rollerball
74. Soylent Green
75. Westworld

MOVIES THAT HAVEN'T BEEN MADE YET BUT HOPEFULLY WILL BE GOOD ENOUGH TO ADD TO THIS LIST SOMEDAY
76 - 100.


You can tell a lot about a person by the movies they watch.  I’m not sure I want to know what this list says about me.

I'm really more of a book person than a movie person anyway, so I'll be putting together a list of my top 100 books soon.  I won't have any trouble coming up with 100 of those, though I promise to keep it down to 100 for your sake!