Thursday, April 30, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #42: All in the Family Edition: Father-Daughter Relationships (Biologically Related)




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 All in the Family Edition - Father-Daughter Relationships (Biologically Related)

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Every last Thursday for the first nine months of 2015 I'm running the All in the Family Edition and this is the fouth theme for the edition. Here are three of my picks:

Emma (1996)
Not necessarily my favourite Emma adaptation; but it ticks the criteria of being a movie. I've also already picked Clueless a few weeks ago, so that is out and honestly I don't think I can ever not like a Jane Austen movie unless it is really terrible. I'm choosing Emma because she is thoroughly devoted to her father, Mr Woodhouse, who after losing his wife, Emma's mother, when Emma was a little girl, becomes a chronic worrier. Although a vivacious young lady, Emma has never left her hometown to always be by her father constantly reassuring him that all is right in the world. Their relationship is just so sweet.

Washington Square (1997)
Washington Square also features a motherless young woman, Catherine, whose mother dies giving birth to her. Left with only one parent, she is devoted to her father, Dr Sloper, who although does his duty as a father, struggles to show affection towards Catherine. The father and daughter relationship unravels when a man of no wealth courts Catherine.

Trouble with the Curve (2012)
I found myself liking this movie coming in with no expectations. Amy Adams is great in it as an estranged daughter of Gus, a baseball scout. She reluctantly goes on a recruiting trip with Gus, who is stubbornly putting off his eye treatment, to make sure he's ok and also to get closure on why he has pushed her away all these years.

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

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23 comments:

  1. I have mine set to drop at midnight! I need to see Washington Square. Like your other two picks, even if I don't love them.

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  2. I really want to see Trouble with the Curve, as a baseball fan if nothing else. Nice picks!

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  3. Completely agree about Emma. Not my favourite Austen or a particularly great character but the father-daughter bond is geniune and enjoyable to watch.

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    1. Can't seem to add my link to last weeks's picks ...

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    2. Link submission is only open for a week.

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  4. I'm a baseball fan, but I hated Trouble with the Curve. Sadly, it's the only one of your picks I've seen this week. I do want to see the other two. Just haven't gotten there, yet. Thanks for the reminders on those!

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    1. Why did you hate Trouble with the Curve - was it the baseball stuff?

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    2. Hated might be a bit strong, but I certainly didn't like it. Everything about it felt way too easy. It was all telegraphed far in advance and was still too neat to be believable. This includes the big love affair subplot.

      http://dellonmovies.blogspot.com/2013/05/trouble-with-curve.html

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  5. Honestly, I haven't watched any of this, but seriously, this theme is so great! So, I think I gotta check the other picks.

    Cheers,
    Paskalis Damar

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  6. I'm not much of a Paltrow fan but I love this version of Emma, it's one of her few performances where she seems really invested in the work. It's not just her though the whole film is so well done with great performances and her relationship with her father is so sweet.

    I haven't seen the other two though I've been meaning to see Washington Square for years, my bonus pick is another version of the book, and having read the book as well I'm curious to see which version adheres to the story more.

    Here's my three for the week, plus that extra:

    Music Box (1989)-Jessica Lange stars as Ann Talbot a lawyer who has a close, loving relationship with her émigré father, suddenly after nearly 40 years in America the father is accused of horrendous war crimes. Sure of his innocence she represents him but as the case progresses she begins to wonder if there is more to it than she knows. Slowly their relationship starts to unravel. Jessica was Oscar nominated for her role.

    Life Begins at Eight Thirty (1942)-Ida Lupino plays a young disabled girl who spends her days trying to help her alcoholic father, Monty Woolley, return to his glory days as a famous actor, until handsome composer Cornel Wilde comes into her life. Monty finally lands the lead in King Lear and a chance to return to the spotlight, but will he lose the daughter he's taken for granted all these years? Beautifully acted.

    Little Nellie Kelly (1940)-A young Irish lass, Nellie Noonan played by Judy Garland, loves a man, Jerry Kelly her father doesn't approve of but over his objections she marries him anyway and the three move to America where Nellie tries to play peace maker between the two until she dies unexpectedly in childbirth. The film then jumps ahead 18 years where the baby is now a young girl, Nellie Kelly also played by Judy, who has assumed her mother's role of trying to keep peace between her understanding dad, now chief of police and her hard headed grandfather who has stayed home and raised her. They live under an uneasy truce until Nellie falls for a young man and all the old tensions flare up. Minor film in Judy's canon but she does sing It's a Great Day for the Irish, Singin' in the Rain and a few other songs beautifully.

    Honorable Mention-The Heiress-A mousy young woman is slavishly devoted to her father, a cold martinet who resents her for causing her mother’s death in childbirth and who constantly crushes her spirit by comparing her unfavorably to the woman who in his mind was perfect. At a dance she meets a man who shows interest in her and embarks on a whirlwind romance and engagement of which her father strongly disapproves. She stands her ground but is jilted and her paternal relationship turns poisonous. Strongly directed by William Wyler with brilliant work by the entire cast and an Oscar winning performance by Olivia de Havilland, one of the most deserving ever in that category.

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    1. Emma - Although I think Paltrow does mostly an ok job as Emma I do think she was miscast, she just looks too modern and mature. My favourite Emma is Romola Garai in the 2009 mini-series, who is just very youthful, girly and lively as Emma. The mini-series as a whole is just more vibrant.

      Washington Square - Oh I hope you get a chance to see this. The unfulfilled/unrequited love here is very intense full of yearning and heartbreak. I've heard of the The Heiress too and its definitely on my to watch list after seeing Washington Square.

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  7. Washington Square and Emma sound interesting. I haven't seen either. I didn't care for Trouble With The Curve, but Amy Adams was good in it for sure.

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  8. Wow, for the first time you've stumped me on all three. I haven't seen any of them. Thanks again for another great week. I really had to think long and hard about father-daughter movies.

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  9. I haven't seen any of these films, but that poster for WS is beautiful!

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  10. I think Trouble With the Curve got an unfair rap from critics when it came out. I found it to be perfectly fine, if far from the best work of anyone involved. But it's not the piece of complete shite people made it out to be. Haven't seen Washington Square, though I've heard good things. And I kind of love Emma.

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    1. I didn't even know Trouble With the Curve got an unfair rap from critics, I thought it was generally liked.

      Have you seen the 2009 Emma mini-series?

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  11. Fun theme again, we went everywhere with it, but why not?

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  12. Oh cool you have an Austen film on here, I have one too on my list, but a different film. I'll be posting mine shortly. Great theme here, another bittersweet one for me.

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  13. Surprised I haven't even heard of Trouble with the Curve (2012), perhaps because it's about Baseball and Baseball isn't a big sport in the UK - we have Rounders instead which is very similar. Haven't seen any of your choices, but made a note of them.

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    1. Haha...I know what you mean. We don't have Baseball either, we have Softball, which is kind of similar, but really, I don't know the difference.

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  14. The only movie you chose this week was one of my choices as well, Trouble with the Curve. I know a few people who absolutely hated it. To be fair, I think some big name critics may have influenced that opinion and most of them are the type to not watch a proclaimed "bad" movie to make the decision on their own. I found it just about perfect, I didn't have high expectations going into it but the science between Amy Adams and Clint Eastwood's characters won me over.

    Mike's Cinema

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    1. You and Dan seem to share the same opinion. Far from great, it wasn't bad at all. It's definitely the father and daughter relationship that's to watch.

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