Wandering through the Shelves: 2015

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #77: Snowy Winter Movies

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share three movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple simple: Each week there is a topic for you to create a list of three movies. Your picks can either be favourites/best, worst, hidden gems, or if you're up to it one of each.For further details visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Snowy Winter Movies

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It's the last day of the year! Nooo....how did this happen so fast. Where did the year went!
Anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed the year end holidays. A little note, I've picked the topics from some of your suggestions for the 2016 Thursday Movie Picks. Please see here and here.

The Thing (1982)
This was just about the first thing that came to mind when I think about snowy winter movies. If you still haven't check this out, do it! It has shape-shifting aliens!

Snow Angels (2007)
The movie starts with gunshots in the distance and then the story goes back days prior to this. It's one of those dramas where you know someone is barreling towards something terrible and it's just so sad.

Chalet Girl (2011)
Chalet Girl I suppose has the typical chick flick plot: girl gives up promising sports career to help support family by working at a chalet and later falls in love with her rich boss. I just found this fun, sweet and charming. Maybe it's Felicity Jones? I tend to think she's great in most things and make them better than they otherwise would have been.

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So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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Check out some of my random Thursday Movie Picks

Thursday Movie Picks #28: Movies with Colour in the Title
Thursday Movie Picks #17: Movies Featuring Amnesiacs
Thursday Movie Picks #25: Bank Robberies
Thursday Movie Picks #13: Zombie Movies
Thursday Movie Picks #22: Movies that Feature a Family Secret

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If you are participating be sure to add your blog post to the linky widget below (Enter your Blog Post URL, your Blog Name and your email {which will remain hidden}). Please also visit the other participating blogs, spread the word about this meme, and also link back to my blog on your own Thursday Movie Picks post :)

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #76: Holiday/Vacation Movies

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Holiday/Vacation Movies

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Ahh it's the time of the year when the shopping malls are crowded and TV channels are showing awful made-for-TV movie. Here are my picks for holiday vacation movies you could watch instead:

Roman Holiday (1953)
This is on my 2015 Blindspot, and even though I haven't really made much effort in seeing the movies in that list, I've managed to see this. It's a very sweet charming movie; I really enjoyed it. Audrey Hepburn had the best make over look in this movie, her haircut was just so gorgeous. By the way, in real life, hairdressers do, do that; ask you over and over again if you want it that short if you came in with really long hair. Oh and I like the ending, it really is a modern fairytale.

Austenland (2013)
The gist of the story is a woman obsessed with Pride and Prejudice goes on a holiday at a Jane Austen theme park hotel. Having read both books, I was so looking forward to this adaptation. Well I was disappointed. I didn't like the comedic aspects. It was a little on the slapstick side which I don't find funny and also a little too much cheese. But if you're an Austen fan, you probably can't resist seeing this anyway. Now I much prefer the TV mini-series Lost in Austen which has a somewhat similar plot but is so much more sweeter and was really charming and funny.

In Bruges (2008)
So this is sort of a holiday movie. Two hitmen are asked to lay low in Bruges after a badly done job. The older of the men wants to do the touristy stuff while they wait, but the depressed younger one reluctantly takes in the sights. This movie is just so darkly funny and awesomely good. So drop that bad TV movie and check out In Bruges.

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So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #75: Family Get-Together/Reunions

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Family Get-Together/Reunions

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In case you missed it the 2016 TMP theme list is up here. I've also open up 4 dates for suggestions, get the details here. I'll reveal the selections by the last Thursday of this year, so if you want to suggest themes, you still have time. Now here are my picks for this week.

The Family Stone (2005)
Uptight professional woman goes to meet her boyfriend's more free spirited family over the Christmas holidays. This one has a lot of recognizable names in it. Can't say I remember much of the movie, it's been 10 years, but I do remember the food fight that Keaton, McAdams and Parker's characters got into, and also thinking that this movie wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Summer Hours (2008)
There are at least two reunions in this. The first is one of the last summers a family spends with their mother in her home in a small town. The second is after her death, not so long after that last summer, as the adult children once again reunite and this time having to decide what to do with their childhood home and their family heirloom. I really enjoyed this. There's no big drama here just people going through the motions of getting things in order and letting go parts of their childhood.

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
Really wanted to love this one but I didn't. It was interesting but a little too artsy emo to me. Now I did enjoy the short little family reunion the vampires had when Eve's sister Ava made her appearance. Ava breathes life to the movie. She could be hundreds of years old but is still a girly spoiled immature teenager that irritates Adam to no end and that is just so fun to watch.

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So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Monday, December 14, 2015

2016 Thursday Movie Picks

Just a quick post to let you know the 2016 list is now up on the Thursday Movie Picks Page.

You may have noticed that there were a few topics last year and this year which were suggestions by Wendell and Hitchcock. I have decided to open up four dates for suggestions. If you're interested, you can submit a maximum of two topics. I'll choose four of the suggestions I've received and the rest may be used for 2017. Please refrain from suggesting horror related topics as the Halloween Edition for 2016 is already filled up. All I ask is that if you do decide to submit a topic please ensure that you will be able to participate for the Thursday it's allocated. Here are the dates available:

March 3 2016

April 7 2016

September 22 2016

November 24 2016

Lastly, if you have any question, please leave a comment here or on the Thursday Movie Picks Page.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #74: Movies Set in a Hotel

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Movie Set in a Hotel

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Hey, it's Thursday again. A little update on the list for next year, I'm done with it. I'll publish it this weekend so look out for it.

A Room with a View (1985)
Partly set in a hotel, it is about a young Englishwoman in the early 1900's who travels to Florence with her older cousin. There she meets an eccentric young man and his father who were willing to switch rooms so that Lucy and her cousin could get the room with a view. This movie is just filled with awkward people being awkward about their feelings.

Somewhere in Time (1980)
I've picked this movie before; I think it was for a Time Travel theme, because yes, this movie has time travel. Based on the novel by Richard Matheson it follows a man from the 1970's who goes back in time to meet a woman in the late 19th century after falling in love with a photograph of her he saw at the hotel he was staying. Matheson also wrote the screenplay for the movie so I guess this will be the most faithful adaptation of it.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Because it's the holiday season and this is one of the movies from my childhood. Is it me or is this movie really much sadder in tone than the first one what with him being alone in place he's not familiar with and then there was the pigeon lady.

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So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #73: Con Artists

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Con Artists

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Hello. It's the first week of the last month of the year. How the year has passed so quickly! This week's theme is Con Artists and here are my picks:

Focus (2015)
This is an uninspired pick. It's here because it'ss the most recent one I've seen and it gives me a chance to talk a little about it. The trailers for this made it look so flashy, sexy, fun and cool. But it's really just a meh movie. It's not really fun. The con is elaborate but I don't think it's clever enough with enough close calls to make it memorable con movie.

The Hoax (2006)
The movie is based on something that actually happened: A writer sells a fake Howard Hughes autobiography to McGraw-Hill in the 1970's. Basically the writer claims that he has been authorised by Hughes, who by then had become a recluse, to write the book. He goes to huge lengths to fabricate documents and recordings to support his lie and the publisher believed him. The premise itself is incredible isn't it? The movie was pretty good as well; it was entertaining to watch Richard Gere, as the writer, running around trying to make up more stuff to cover up and support the lie while also becoming increasingly obsessed with Howard Hughes himself.

Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Another based on a true story, this time about a teenage con artist. I think Catch Me If You Can has one of the most memorable opening credits. A good start to a good movie. Watching this again recently, it was nice spotting a few actresses in their earlier roles just before their stars rose.

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So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #72: Movies about Royalty

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Movies about Royalty

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Hello! Today's theme is right up my alley because a great many of movies about royalty are period dramas and I love watching them. Now see if you can guess what my theme within a theme is.

Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
I think this is one of my favourite movies set in the particular period. Geneviève Bujold was great as the smart and feisty Anne Boleyn who later became Queen Anne when she married Henry VIII. Her Anne is so much better written and performed than Portman's Anne in The Other Boleyn Girl. Oh and costumes here are gorgeous! One of the prettiest scenes I think was in the earlier part of the movie in the garden as Anne waits for Henry Percy.

Lady Jane (1986)
I knew absolutely nothing of Lady Jane other than having seen that popular painting of her. So I went into the movie blind, no pun intended. The movie begins with a hunt which was surprising but now having seen it is very apt. I guess the other reason that attracted me to this movie is that a very young Helena Bonham Carter stars in it and she looks like a child. She was practically drowning in the huge gowns she had to where. Cary Elwes is in this too as Lady Jane's husband and they're both so young and cute together. One of the reasons I like watching shows from this period is all the fascinating plotting and maneuvering that occurs which this movie had quite a lot as well; it was pretty much the real game of thrones then wasn't it?

Marie Antoinette (2006)
I've picked Marie Antoinette before for TMP #5 and I'm picking it once again because it fits perfectly with my theme within a theme this week, which I hope you've guessed what it is by now. Now I'm not a very big fan of Marie Antoinette, the movie not the person, but I enjoyed watching it. It certainly is a gorgeous looking movie. I absolutely love the movie's colour palette and I think I've warmed up to the whole thing with using rock music for it's soundtrack.

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So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #71: Non-English Language Movies - Asian Language Movies Set in South East Asia (Non-Horror)

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Non-English Language Movies - Asian Language Movies Set in South East Asia (Non-Horror)

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Today is another Non-English Language edition; this time its South East Asia. Once again the caveat is that it must not be horror because we've already had an Asian Horror as a theme for the TMP Halloween edition. If you are not too sure what countries are part of South East Asia, please Google it :).

Gone Shopping (2007)

I've actually picked this movie before for TMP #8 but since I'm sure few people have seen or heard of it, I'm just going to go ahead and pick it again because I really like it. Truthfully, if I can recall correctly, possibly half of the film is in English, but most people in Singapore are bilingual so not featuring any English would probably be an untrue picture of local life. Anyway...shopping is one of the nation's favourite pastime and Gone Shopping follows a few characters whose lives revolve around actual shopping or hanging around the mall.

Ada apa dengan cinta? (2002) - (What's Up with Love)

I haven't seen this for more than a decade so I'm really recalling from memory here. I hardly ever watch Asian Teen flicks, just not something that gets my attention, but this Indonesian movie was hugely popular way back when it was released so I saw it. I guess the story is typical teen movie stuff: a teen girl has to choose between friendship (her tight knit group of friends) or love (the brooding boy outside her social circle), but I was really impressed. It's all about execution isn't it and I thought it was comparable to the better teen movies Hollywood makes. I'd love to see this one again someday.

Ibu mertuaku (1962) - (My Mother-In-Law)

P. Ramlee is possibly Malaysia's most versatile entertainer. He was an actor, screenwriter, director, singer, musician and composer and usually wore several of those hats in a movie he was in so I would be remiss if I hadn't mentioned him or his movies. He died young, still I think he starred and directed more than two dozen films. I'm going for one of his dramas today, well it's more of a melodrama and it's just one of those movies that sticks out (something to do with forks). In Ibu Mertuaku P. Ramlee plays a poor musician who marries the daughter of wealthy matriarch without her blessing. When the young couple's financial situation becomes dire, the mother-in-law agrees to help and uses their vulnerability to get what she wants. The songs are often a highlight of P. Ramlee's movies; likewise here he sings and plays the saxophone and I leave you today with a Youtube clip of one of the songs (The Screams of my Soul) from the movie.

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So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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Check out some of my random Thursday Movie Picks

Thursday Movie Picks #21: Movies Adapted from a Play (non-Shakespeare and non-musical)
Thursday Movie Picks #24: Movies Driven Entirely by People Talking
Thursday Movie Picks #23: Coming of Age Movies
Thursday Movie Picks #3: Movies set in a Mental Institution
Thursday Movie Picks #50: All in the Family Edition: Sibling Relationships (Biologically Related)

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #70: Movies about Music/Making Music/Musicians (Suggested by Wendell)

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Movies about Music/Making Music/Musicians (No Biopics or focus on Real Life Musicians) (suggested by Wendell)

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Hello everyone! How has your week been? Well it's another Thursday and today's theme theme is a suggestion from Wendell@DellonMovies. My picks this week are simple, all of them were movies I've seen just in the last few weeks.

Breathe In (2013)

In Breathe In, Sophie's (a foreign exchange student) arrival at her host family home disrupts the family's relationships. The father in the family is a high school music teacher who yearns to play in a big orchestra, but his wife's continued reluctance to move to the city stifles his ambitions. Sophie who turns out to be a talented young pianist uncertain about pursuing a musical career, awakens a desire in the father to follow not only his musical ambitions but possibly also a romantic one. I rather enjoyed this. The tension of the relationships of the characters I thought were great.

Frank (2014)

I really like the first third: Jon struggling to write songs was endearing and when he met Frank and join his band it looked like it could be the beginning of his musical career. I felt like the story became less interesting when they stayed at the cabin. It was one eccentric thing after another. As for Frank, well he is weird as expected,but I'd say less weird than his friends who treats him like some kind of genius. I also had trouble understanding what Frank was saying most of the time, he either sort of mumbles or the mask just muffles too much of his voice. I wanted to really like this movie but I think it's just a little too eccentric for me.

Lucky Them (2013)

In Lucky Them, Toni Collete plays a music journalist assigned to write an article about a rock star who disappeared from the stage a decade ago who also happens to be her boyfriend at the time. Reluctantly she goes on a journey to investigate the mystery for the article and at the same time to get closure on what really happened. I rather enjoyed this one too. It was funny and it was nice seeing Toni Collette playing a young cool rock kind of character instead of the mom-ish characters I tend to see her in.

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So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers