Friday, July 28, 2017

Thursday Movie Picks #159: TMP Television Edition - Non-English



Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is TMP Television Edition - Non-English

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So it's the last Thursday of the month and today's TV theme is Non-English TV shows. I've been looking forward to this week because I've watched a couple of good series and am keen to discover more. Here are four that I like.

Oshin (1983 - 1984)
Before Korean dramas was everywhere, there were Japenese dramas. Oshin was probably the most popular Japanese drama in my part of world and from what I've read, its success was worldwide too. Oshin was basically just one long season of short episodes (there were 297 epsiodes)...I think it was probably aired daily in Japan, although when I saw it, much later of course, the episodes were combined into half hour or was it hour long episodes which we were more accustomed with. The show follows the life of a Japanese woman, Oshin, from 1907 as a young girl when she was sent to work as a nanny to support her family up until 1983.  
 
Gran Hotel (2011 - 2013)
I first heard of this Spanish drama by way of a recommendation, something like: if you like Downton Abbey, you'll love Gran Hotel. I agree and dare I say, I think Gran Hotel is a much better series. Downton Abbey was good for about 3 seasons but fell off a cliff afterwards while Gran Hotel was a much consistent show. Set in 1905, Gran Hotel follows a young man as he gets a job as a waiter at a grand hotel to investigate the disappearance of his sister who had been a maid there. Gran Hotel I'd say is a mix of Downton Abbey and Gosford Park, it's a drama, romance, with a mystery whodunnit  as well as a little bit of comedic elements which just makes it a very fun watch.
 
Velvet (2013 - 2016)
Another Spanish drama. While I've seen only two seasons, I really like what I've seen. This one is more of a romantic drama; set in the 50s/60s it's about the people working at a fashion house, notably the return of the heir after being abroad and his relationship with a seamstress, his childhood sweetheart. This one also has some comedic elements; these Spanish dramas are just really fun to watch.

Call My Agent! (2015 - )
Set in Paris, it centers on a talent agency as its agents juggle meeting the demands of their clients and trying to figure out the future of the agency when their leader dies. I've only seen the first season and I really enjoyed it; it has a sharp humor and getting a glimpse into what an agent does was really interesting. A fun thing the series does is that the agents' clients are all actual actors playing fictitious version of themselves. While I'm not familiar with those that appeared in the first season, the second season it seems have more international actors like Isabelle Adjani and Juliette Binoche as the clients, so I'm definitely looking forward to the second season.

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Friday, July 21, 2017

Thursday Movie Picks #158: The Chosen One



Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.


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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is The Chosen One 

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Ahh...the chosen one...so many to pick.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
It has such a low rating on IMDB, but I remember liking it, this was of course way before the series was ever made, so there was nothing to compare to...and it had Luke Perry...in the 90s, he was the IT guy because of 90210. I would love to see this again.

Star Wars 1-3 (1999-2005)
I know people hate the prequels, but I like them...anyway they were all about Anakin Skywalker, the one prophesied to bring balance to the Force. For some reason no one seem to realise that as the good guys were winning, "the one" will be a bad guy to balance it all out. Oh and I just love the simplicity of that poster.

The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007) and Seventh Son (2014)
I only found out about the seventh son of a seventh son folklore because of the movies that were made about it and it's an interesting lore, but too bad the movies using that basic premise have all been really bad. The Seeker was trying so hard to be the next YA franchise but it was boring and Seventh Son was just this bad bad medieval fantasy movie.

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Friday, July 14, 2017

Thursday Movie Picks #157: Amusement Parks



Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.


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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Amusement Parks

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Summer is supposedly the month for amusement parks, hence the theme for today. Mine is a theme within a theme...it's all the "lands"

Adventureland (2009)
Set in the 80s, a recent college graduate takes up a job at a local amusement park. I remember this the least, as I saw this the earliest out of my picks today, but I do remember liking it.

Zombieland (2009)
If you haven't seen this, it's basically a zombie road trip comedy and in the later half of the movie (not a spoiler) the characters go to an amusement park. Recommended.

Tomorrowland (2015)
It's a pity that Tomorrowland is actually boring because there were bits of it that look pretty awesome but nothing comes together and everything just seem a little pointless. The gist; a young boy genius enters some science/inventor contest at an amusement park and gets to glimpse into some futuristic magical world. However, for reasons I can't recall, he grows up a sort of recluse and pessimistic about the future. That is of course until he meets a teen girl who has a passion for science and together they...I don't know what they actually achieve in the end...renew the world's faith in science?


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Friday, July 7, 2017

Thursday Movie Picks #156: Summer Vacation



Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.


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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Summer Vacation

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Summer isn't really my season...and I've been drawing a blank on summer themed movies so here goes.

Very Good Girls (2013)
One of my more recent watches. It's a pretty unmemorable movie about two girls spending their last summer before going off to college.

Hearts in Atlantis (2001)
I guess the movie one thinks of when you think of summer and Stephen King...is probably Stand By Me, but I'm not as fond of it as most...so I'm going to go with Hearts in Atlantis which I like more. The gist: a boy and his friends befriend a new tenant who has supernatural powers.

The Go-Between (1971)
Ok...I like this one. Set in 1900, a boy spends his summer vacation at a school friend's grand home and becomes a go-between carrying messages for his friend's older sister and her secret lover.


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Friday, June 30, 2017

Thursday Movie Picks #155: TMP Television Edition - Medical Drama



Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.


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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is TMP Television Edition - Medical Drama

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So it's the last Thursday of the month and today's TV theme is Medical Drama. While I do watch a couple of such shows, none are for me must see TVs. Most of them are episodic so I usually watch them on and off. My three picks are the current dramas that I sometimes watch. 

Grey's Anatomy (2005 - )
This show has gone on for so long, I'm guessing it will soon tie with ER. I probably watched it weekly for the first two seasons but have only seen it sporadically afterwards. It's a pretty easy show to start watching again even if you stopped watching for awhile; I don't even know how the story lines ended for some of the older characters that are now gone.
 
Chicago Med (2015 - )
So I've checked out all the Chicago series (but not all of the episodes) and Chicago Med is one of the better ones. It's not a stand out drama, but competent I would say. The worst was Chicago Justice, so it's no wonder they got cancelled.

Remedy (2014 - 2015)
This is a Canadian TV series which I think has already been cancelled so it only has 2 seasons. Once again, like Chicago Med, not a stand out but nonetheless is a competent medical drama.  

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Friday, June 23, 2017

Thursday Movie Picks #154: The Woods



Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.


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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is The Woods

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I'm going pretty random this week with some I like and some not so much, all from different genres.


Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
Two lonely kids, escape into a fantasy world in the woods near the homes. Kids movie based on a book. I've never read the book, so I don't know if the movie just used actors a little older than they were supposed to be but I thought the characters were just way too old to play make believe and make up fantasy worlds; the cutesy overactive imagination thing can be a little annoying. Plus the effects of the fantastical creatures they conjured up are pretty bad. I know I sound quite negative, but other than what I've mentioned, I actually found it a pretty good movie about friendship, tragedy and grief. 

Into the Woods (2014)
A musical that takes a twist on the fairy tales you know. I love twists on fairy tales so I was curious about this. Well...I didn't enjoy it as much . The first half was ok for me but the second half lost me. It really felt like two movies instead of one.

Honeymoon (2014)
Newlyweds spend their honeymoon in a remote cabin. Weird things soon start to happen like the wife is found disoriented in the woods late one night and it all just go downhill from there. Very creepy movie.


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Friday, June 16, 2017

Thursday Movie Picks #153: Movies Based on True Events



Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five movies and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.


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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Movies Based on True Events [Suggested by Katie Hogan]

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This week's theme is a suggestion from Katie Hogan of www.shelikesmovies.blogspot.com
I'm tempted to pick period dramas, but I'm going to resist and pick titles that a little more contemporary.

All the President's Men (1976)
Two reporters uncover details of the Watergate scandal. Hmm...just feels very relevant. If you haven't seen this yet, probably time. 

Spotlight (2015)
If you like All the President's Men or movies about investigative journalism in general, definitely check out Spotlight. It's about the Boston Globe uncovering the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese.  

The Big Short (2015)
The subject is all very dry: the credit and housing bubble collapse, but the movie does, I think, quite a good job of making it understandable for a layperson.


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