Wandering through the Shelves

Thursday, March 31, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #403: TMP Television Edition - Family Comedies

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five titles 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 - Family Comedies

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I'm just picking half hour family comedies and the ones that immediately came to mind.

Schitt's Creek (2015-2020)

This got added to Netflix this year so I just started watching and I'm about halfway through and am enjoying it. I find the adult children who are still very childish funny.

Arrested Development (2003 - 2019)

I have only seen the original seasons and not the 2 season revival that came out a few years ago. Anyway I really like the original seasons. I had back then not seen anything like it as a half hour comedy; it was full of sarcasm and dark humour.

8 Simple Rules (2002 - 2006)

This was a pretty funny family comedy back in the early 2000s. What made me remember this after all these years is that it was the first show I had seen where the main actor, John Ritter who plays the father, passed away when they were still filming the series. It was actually very early in the second season so the writers had to write his death into the series...what a turn because it is a comedy and they had to do the "goodbye" episodes that show the bleaker aspect of life and have this fictional family deal with their husband/father's death; as far as I remembered it was decently done.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #402: Gaslighting

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share your 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 Gaslighting

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I'm picking the ones I like.

The Invisible Man (2020)
A woman believes her abusive ex husband's death is a hoax and that he is still tormenting her. I've picked this a couple of times before because I really enjoyed it and this theme was also inspired by it.

Unsane (2018)
A woman is involuntarily committed to a mental institution where she soon alleges that one of its employees is her stalker. The movie has this nightmarish claustrophobic look to it which I thought effectively brings the main character's predicament to life.

What Lies Beneath (2000)
A woman believes her home is haunted. I saw this 20 years ago and decided to rewatch it last year. I still think it is a pretty good ghost movie/thriller.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #401: Movies with a Body Part in the Title

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Movies with a Body Part in the Title

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This theme is suggested by Brittani. This is quite an easy one, there are plenty of movies using a body part in the title. I'm picking the ones I like.

Jaws (1975)
I finally saw it in full two years ago. It was good. I’ve never really found the idea of sharks in the water scary, because I mean just stay away from shark infested waters right? So what I did like more was the first half where it was more of town drama; the town is trying to figure out what to do, fearing the news of sharks would affect the local economy that is dependent on summer vacationers.

The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)
A month ago we did a second chance love theme where the characters usually at a later age have a second chance at love. This movie is a little different, these are middle age nerdy characters who never found love when they were younger and finally do find their person now. It’s sweet and funny; I really enjoyed it.

Hearts in Atlantis (2001)
I’ve picked this before. It’s about an older man who reflects on a particular summer of his childhood with his friends when an elderly man with mysterious skills enter their lives. Several of Stephen Kings adaptations are about nostalgic trips down childhood memories, this is similarly so and I enjoyed this more than others like IT and Stand By Me.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, March 10, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #400: Falsely Accused

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Falsely Accused

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Today is TMP's 400th edition and it is a suggestion by Getter. This is quite an easy one since there are quite a number of crime thrillers with this type of plot. Here are my 3 most recent watches.

Eagle Eye (2008)
I avoided this when it came out because Shia LaBeouf was also in Transformers and this to me seemed too similar; just mindless action with a lot of exploding things. So I finally saw this last year and it was ok. The action was decent but I didn’t really care for the plot, it was so silly.

The Invisible Man (2020)
The being falsely accused of a crime thing isn’t really the central plot of the movie, but it is what happen to the main character about halfway through and because of it she is remanded to a psychiatric hospital. I really like this movie. I like how they turn the story, based on HG Wells Invisible Man, into one of domestic abuse and gaslighting where victims of such often continue to be haunted by the trauma they’ve experienced.

Next Three Days (2010)
Found this on Netflix last year. I don’t think I was aware of the movie before then. It’s a pretty good thriller. In short it’s about a man attempting a prison break for his wife whom he believed was falsely accused of murder. This is actually a remake of a French movie which I would like to see as well.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, March 3, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #399: A Dig

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is A Dig

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I'm going with my 3 most recent seen "Dig" movies and honestly there are very few movies that are about archeological digs. Most tend to be about an archeologist running around in some treasure adventure. So the ones I pick all have at least have some dig scenes.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

I saw this when I was little but remember none of it so I rewatched it a few years back. I know this is a well loved movie but I thought it was just ok. The archeological dig is more of the Nazi's stealing the artifacts for themselves and serve as a backdrop for Indiana Jones to save the day...or stealing it for the Americans?

The Mummy (2017)`
There is some sort of dig site at the start of the movie and the leading lady in this is an archeologist but it's not really about an archeological dig...like I said before, this like most movies is an adventure movie and not a very good one. Pretty boring and a total flop. It was supposed to launch Universal's monster series of movies and I don't think that's happening anymore.

The Dig (2021)

This is based on a real archeological dig in England. I have no idea how accurate the movie is to the real story of the excavation of Sutton Hoo but this movie is the only one I've ever seen that really is about a dig rather than some background scene for an adventure story. So it is interesting in that regard.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, February 24, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #398: Romance Tropes / TMP Television Edition: Workplace Romance

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Romance Tropes / TMP Television Edition: Workplace Romance

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Hey it's February and it's time for the Romance Tropes Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

February 3 - Romance Tropes Edition: Enemies to Lovers
February 10 - Romance Tropes Edition: Famous Person and Non-Famous Person Romance
February 17 - Romance Tropes Edition: Second Chance Love
February 24 - Romance Tropes / TMP Television Edition: Workplace Romance

This is the last of the Romance Tropes Edition, I hope you've enjoyed it. Today's theme isn't that hard. Almost every workplace series has some romantic relationship in it. My picks are some of my favourite series and I do enjoy the romantic side stories, though I would say for most of them not much romantic stuff actually happens especially with the series that are still ongoing. One of the characters is usually unavailable, they are either engaged or married and even when they eventually get divorced or their spouse dies from a disease, the characters still don't get together (yet for the ongoing series) because even though it's clear they have great affection for one another they're afraid it will destroy their friendship.

Superstore (2015 - 2021)

I love this series. It is so much fun. The employees at this store are just so wacky so it's very funny. I haven't seen the final season and the last one I saw, the characters were still in the friendzone, but I've always love the banter between both of them and they've been tiptoeing around the prospect of something more between them for a very long time.

C.B. Strike (2017 - )

This is one of my favourite new crime TV series based on JK Rowling's books. The two main characters are a private detective and his assistant. There's clearly something there between them but neither crosses the line. He is her boss, who just ended a long relationship, and she is engaged though her fiance is a shit and there were moments that it seemed she was going to call off the wedding. I do hope the two of them would get together eventually.

The Chair (2021 -)
I picked this a month ago for 2021 Freshmen Series. This was a fun comedy too. Sandra Oh plays the new chair of an English department who has a major crush on her best friend at work and everyone at work knows this though I'm not entirely sure if it had been reciprocated then, because he was married. But his wife has since died and he is coming out of I think a year long depression over her death so even though I think they eventually share a kiss in one of the episodes they still seem more in the friendzone but if we get a new season, their relationship might evolve.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #397: Romance Tropes Edition - Second Chance Love

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Romance Tropes Edition - Second Chance Love

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Hey it's February and it's time for the Romance Tropes Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

I love the Second Chance Love trope. I think it's because the characters are older, they have more life experiences with a lot more baggage and they are also more reflective as well as the romance is no longer puppy love, it's more serious with more at stake. There are at least two sub themes I could go with, with this theme. I could do a theme where someone has gone through a failed relationship or lost someone, and now just when they thought the romance ship has sailed for them, they meet someone new and has a second chance at love. Or the other theme is ex lovers meeting again after years apart and have their second chance at love. My picks today will be the latter because I enjoy their stories more as the characters have more history with each other; a lot of unspoken things and hurt feelings between them which all makes for good drama.

Sweet Home Alabama (2002)

The Gist: After seven years of separation, a woman returns to her home town to get a divorce from her husband. Saw this when it was released and saw it again about a year or two ago because I had forgotten how the movie went. It is not a favourite, but I did enjoy it. I was quite funny and the two leads had some entertaining banter.

Before Sunset (2004)

The Gist: Nine years after a romantic chance encounter, two people meet again while the other is on a book tour. I've picked this countless times before because I love this movie. Before Sunset is one of the best just-people-talking movie ever. And the two actors are great in portraying these two people who are meeting again after so long and who are still clearly (to the audience) attracted to each other but sort of trying to not show their interest to early for fear the other is not as interested.

Persuasion (2007)
The Gist: 8 years ago, Anne was persuaded by family and friends to reject Wentworth's proposal of marriage as he was of a lower class and was an undistinguished naval officer with little money. Now years later their paths cross. He has a shining naval career and is now a wealthy man while her family has become one those cash poor gentry. I love Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice because it's a fun romantic comedy, but if you're looking at just romance...Persuasion is it. It is this lovely aching romantic tale of second chances and enduring love and this TV movie adaptation of it is wonderful. Sally Hawkins was just amazing as the lead character Anne; those scenes where Anne is both excited and anxious to see Wentworth again after so long because she fears that not only does he no longer have any affection for her, but that he might hate her for rejecting him, was performed so well. Also there's that letter that Wentworth sends to Anne at the end (is that letter not the most swoonworthy letter ever - you can read the letter here) and the reaction from Anne...just a great closing. By the way there's two new Persuasion adaptations in production. One is by Netflix with Dakota Johnson as Anne which has completed filming while the other is still in development with Sarah Snook attached to star.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, February 10, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #396: Romance Tropes Edition - Famous Person and Non-Famous Person Romance

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Romance Tropes Edition - Famous Person and Non-Famous Person Romance

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Hey it's February and it's time for the Romance Tropes Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

I'm doing a theme within a theme and I don't think I've ever picked any of these movies before for previous themes.

Rock Star (2001)

I haven't seen this in like 20 years but I remember liking it. The gist is Wahlberg plays a guy playing in a tribute band when he gets scouted to replace the lead of a popular metal band and he now has to navigate his life and romantic relationship through his new rock star status. The whole rock star thing with Wahlberg playing a guy in one of those 90s long stringy hair rock band was fun and funny.

Music and Lyrics (2007)

Hugh Grant plays a man famous for being in a popular Wham-like band in the 80s, who is now a songwriter and has been paired with a lyricist to write a hit song for a pop princess. I don't really care much for the romance aspect of the story, but I thought the whole ex-80s pop star thing as well as them having to write for a Britney-like teen star was a lot of fun.

Beyond the Lights (2014)

I don't remember much of the romance aspect, but I think it was ok. What I did like was the scenes of Gugu Mbatha-Raw being this pop star character and the story of her buckling under the pressure. Minnie Driver also plays the character's rather young mother who is the momager and has a lot of control over her life/career...both of the actors were great on screen together.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, February 3, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #395: Romance Tropes Edition - Enemies to Lovers

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Romance Tropes Edition - Enemies to Lovers

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Hey it's February and it's time for the Romance Tropes Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

Today is the start of the Romance Tropes Edition which will run the whole of February. This is the second year I'm running this annual special edition. The Romance Tropes Edition, if you weren't here last year is very much inspired by the sub-genres and popular tropes in the romance novels I've read and today's theme is a very popular trope in the world of romance. Here are the movies that immediately came to mind:

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

The best thing about the Enemies to Lovers trope is the banter between people who thinks they hate each other but secretly like each other and Pride and Prejudice is a classic, the original romantic comedy. Now while Darcy is socially awkward and rather tongue tied, Elizabeth makes up for it with all her quick witted responses to everyone...she has the best lines.Even though this isn't my most favourite adaptation (the 1995 mini-series is) this is still good.

Leap Year (2010)

A naive misguided romantic meets a surly innkeeper and they sort of reluctantly travel together across Ireland. I really enjoyed Leap Year; it is a super cute fish-out-of-water travel movie.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

One of the best teen romantic comedies. There's a lot of fun banter between the leads...like I think every time Kat rebuffs Patrick's advances.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #394: TMP Television Edition - 2021 Freshmen Series

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is TMP Television Edition - 2021 Freshmen Series

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I’ve said this before in last year’s similar post, limited series cannot be included today. This TMP theme does refer to Freshmen, which means the first season, therefore a limited series with only one planned season is not the first of anything. Here are my favourite freshmen series of 2021.

Ginny and Georgia (2021 - )

This series follows a young single mom and her two children as she scams her way into building a new life in a new town and into its mayors heart. This has often described as Gilmore Girls with a twist (but without the fast talking) and I agree. This was fun. It began more like a teen/family drama but the mom’s back story and her present day maneuverings made this interesting.

Shadow and Bone (2021 - )

I can't really do a plot summary for this...there's lots going on. I really enjoyed this YA fantasy series, it is my favourite fantasy series from the last three years or so. While I have not read the book it was based on I found this adaptation far exceeded what I would ever expect a YA fantasy TV series could be. The world building is big and the series has high production value which is just impressive. I can’t wait for the second season and see what’s in store for the characters and see how their relationships develop.

The Chair (2021 - )

In this comedy, Sandra Oh plays a woman who is the first woman of color to chair a University’s English department, unfortunately it is a failing one. Out of my three picks today, The Chair is the only one where its renewal has yet to be announced…its fate is still up in the air. I do hope Netflix renews it. I found it very funny and I thought Sandra Oh was great as the new chair running around trying to save the department while juggling multiple crises.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, January 20, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #393: Time Loops

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Time Loops

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There are quite a lot of time loop movies; there are comedic ones, action adventure ones and horror ones. I’m going with horror. My picks are all movies I have not picked for previous TMPs.

Happy Death Day (2017)
The Gist: In this horror comedy, a college girl is trapped in a time loop that occurs on her birthday which is also when she dies. I’m quite surprised that I have not picked the original before even though I have picked the sequel for a TMP like 2 years ago. This, the original, is the better funnier movie.

The Final Girls (2015)

The Gist: A teen girl and her friends are transported into a horror summer camp movie, which her deceased mother starred in as the final girl, that loops itself when movie running time ends. I really wanted to love this movie. It is fun, but I didn’t quite love it. I think if you love Scream, you’d want to check The Final Girls out as it has the whole thing where the characters are aware of the rules of the horror genre and that gave some funny scenes.

Haunter (2013)
The Gist: A teen girl tries to uncover the truth to why she and her family gets stuck on the same day again and again. Unlike the first two which are horror comedies, this is more of plain horror and I remember this the least. I think the acting here wasn’t that good and the production value was quite low.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #392: Movies Set in Hospitals

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Movies Set in Hospitals

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Today's theme of the day is a suggestion from Birgit. This is quite a challenging one as I'm going for regular hospitals rather than mental institutions (which was a theme a few years ago) and hospitals as a setting is more often utilized in the realm of TV rather than movies. My picks today are ones that came immediately to mind as well as being ones I haven't picked for any TMPs before.

The Eye (2002)
This is the one I watched most recently. I saw the remake featuring Jessica Alba ages ago but had missed the original. While not a favourite, I thought The Eye was pretty good; not too scary with a decent amount of scares. I was just thinking...that if you're afraid of hospitals this is not the scary movie for you. Anyway, the late 1990s and early 2000s was the time Asian horror made it big with quite a number of popular ones and Hollywood jumped on them quickly, remaking a lot of them. Unfortunately it doesn't seem we've been making them like before, I certainly haven't heard of any good ones recently.

The Big Sick (2017)

This was quite a hit when it came out wasn't it. It got a lot of nomination and wins. I didn't like it as much as everyone else; I thought it was just ok.

The Good Doctor (2011)

Orlando Bloom is always playing some large fantasy or historical character, it was nice seeing him as just a guy. I don't remember much of this anymore, but I like it...it was more of a quiet thriller.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Friday, January 7, 2022

2022 Thursday Movie Picks Schedule (Final)

Just a few things before you scroll down to the final schedule. If you haven't read my 2022 Thursday Movie Picks Schedule (Preliminary) post last week, please click the linked post and read it as I had also written about some of the rules of TMP, in particular the linkup requirements, that some people have ignored MULTIPLE times over MULTIPLE Thursdays over MONTHS and MONTHS. Details are in that post so please read it. I do not want such things to happen again in this new year.

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Hi everyone! Thanks to everyone who submitted a theme suggestion. Can you believe that it is the ninth year?

Here is the updated final schedule which I will also post on the Thursday Movie Picks page for your easy reference.

Any questions or clarification needed please leave a comment.

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2022 Thursday Movie Picks Schedule (Final)

January 6 - 2021 Releases
January 13 - Movies Set in Hospitals [Suggested by Birgit]
January 20 - Time Loops (e.g. Groundhog Day)
January 27 - TMP Television Edition: 2021 Freshmen Series
February 3 - Romance Tropes Edition: Enemies to Lovers
February 10 - Romance Tropes Edition: Famous Person and Non-Famous Person Romance
February 17 - Romance Tropes Edition: Second Chance Love
February 24 - Romance Tropes / TMP Television Edition: Workplace Romance
March 3 - A Dig (Archeology/Paleontology)
March 10 - Falsely Accused [Suggested by Getter]
March 17 - Movies with a Body Part in the Title [Suggested by Brittani]
March 24 - Gaslighting
March 31 - TMP Television Edition: Family Comedies
April 7 - Diary/Journal or Psychics and Mediums *please refer here for reason
April 14 - Diary/Journal or Psychics and Mediums *please refer here for reason
April 21 - Environmental Wrongs/ Disasters (not a natural disaster, so something like Chernobyl)
April 28 - TMP Television Edition: Royalty
May 5 - Cinephiles in Movies
May 12 - Actors who are Real Life Family Playing Same Family Role in Movies
May 19 - Mazes
May 26 - TMP Television Edition: Home and Lifestyle Shows
June 2 - Failure to Launch (Movies that were supposed to launch a franchise)
June 9 - Fantasy
June 16 - Shopping Mall
June 23 - Island Movies
June 30 - TMP Television Edition: Origin Story
July 7 - Fairs
July 14 - Non-English Language Movies
July 21 - Female Boss [Suggested by Getter]
July 28 - TMP Television Edition: Book Adaptations
August 4 - Math in Movies
August 11 - Ageing Leading Actors Cast as Much Younger Men Playing Alongside Much Younger Actresses
August 18 - Dark Academia
August 25 - TMP Television Edition: Boarding School
September 1 - Mystery Edition: Capers
September 8 - Mystery Edition: Historical Mysteries
September 15 - Mystery Edition: Media or Technology Mysteries
September 22 - Mystery Edition: Female Investigators (Private or Police)
September 29 - Mystery/TMP Television Edition: Cold Cases
October 6 - Halloween Edition: Horror Movie Themes/Scores
October 13 - Halloween Edition: The Final Girl
October 20 - Halloween Edition: New Home
October 27 - Halloween/ TMP Television Edition: Horror TV Themes/Scores
November 3 - Movies in which the Actors Didn’t Like Each Other [Suggested by Birgit]
November 10 - Female Revenge Movies
November 17 - Book Adaptations
November 24 - TMP Television Edition: Non-English
December 1 - Combat Sports
December 8 - Retro Chic (Movies set in the present day but has a retro look)
December 15 - Movies with Flowers/Plants in the Title [Suggested by Brittani]
December 22 - Winter Sports
December 29 -TMP Television Edition: Amnesiacs

Thursday, January 6, 2022

Thursday Movie Picks #391: 2021 Releases

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is 2021 Releases

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Hi and welcome to the 9th run of TMP. The Final Schedule will be up after this post, so keep a look out.

I'm not one to watch many new releases each year so I have few options. So out of the few, here are the ones I've enjoyed.

Fear Street: Part Two - 1978 (2021)
I've said this before, the Fear Street books was like THE horror book series I was into when I was growing up...oh and Point Horror books too (which last I heard was being made into an anthology series at HBO Max - can't wait for it). Anyway I was soo excited when the Fear Street movies came out and am so glad they all turned out decent. I enjoyed the 2nd and 3rd part but if I had two choose, it has to be the second one. I like the whole summer camp setting.

Jungle Cruise (2021)

I expected this to be bad, but it was fun. The movie is based on a themed ride in Disneyland and the movie does feel like an adventure ride. The one thing I did not like though is that in this, as well as in another recent action/adventure comedy he has been in, they always seem to make Dwayne Johnson's character be romantically involved with the lead female character...I wish they would stop. He is ok as the action comedy lead, but he doesn't do romantic lead well...it just falls flat.

The Night House (2021)

This movie is creepy and weird. For those that have seen this what did you think? I don't think the occult had anything to do with it. The husband used it as an excuse to justify his activities and the wife is just wrecked with grief and haunted by the revelation of his secrets so she too uses the occult to explain what the husband had done because she could not accept how terrible it was and that she never knew about it. So all the weird stuff we see like the confrontation with "nothing" I just saw it as a manifestation of her grief and inability to accept the secrets.

Mixtape (2021)

I love Mixtape. It is adorable. It's set in 1999 right before the year 2000 (there's even a whole side story thing about the grandma being worried about the Y2K bug) so it's super nostalgic for me as I was about the lead girl's age that time and I think it got the period pretty spot on. One thing I thought was funny is that the grandma seems to still be worried up until New Years Eve about the Y2K bug...even though Australia is like almost a day ahead of the US in welcoming the new year, which means almost everyone in the US would have woken up on the morning of the last day of 1999 with the ability to know the Y2K bug didn't happen, that is if they watch international news.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Friday, December 31, 2021

2022 Thursday Movie Picks Schedule (Preliminary)

There are a few important things I'd like to write about so please be patient and read them before proceeding to the preliminary schedule.

If you have been joining TMP you'd know that at the end of every TMP post I would list the linkup requirements for participating in TMP. The two requirements are for participants to submit their link in the linkup widget and the other is to link back to my blog on their own TMP post. Occasionally some participants would forget to do either linkup requirement. Once or twice I would treat it is as either forgetfulness or a mistake. They would usually by themselves remember to do it the next TMP. If anyone does it more than twice, I would usually remind them in their comments section and they tend to comply after that.

It has come to my attention the past few months that two participants of TMP have not done at least one of the requirements over weeks and months. If a person doesn't do it once or twice, it can be excused as forgetfulness, a mistake. However, more than twice - that is multiple times over weeks and months, it is a choice, deliberate.

According to my linkup widget history, the last time the first participant submitted their link in my linkup widget was for the May 6th 2021 Thursday Movie Picks #356: Oscar Winners Edition: Best Director. After that I simply thought they chose not to participate in TMP anymore; people do come and go. However, in September/October 2021, as I was reading someone else's TMP blog post comments section, I found this person's comment, that implied they had participated for that Thursday's TMP. I visited their blog and found 3 most recent TMPs (I didn't look past the 3 so I have no idea how many actually since May 6th that they had participated in). I promptly left a message on their comment section to remind them to submit their link to my linkup widget for future TMPs they participate in. They replied and gave the excuse that they had either forgotten to or they realised too late and the linkup widget was closed by then. By the way, for each TMP the linkup widget is open until the next Wednesday so about a week of opportunity, there is plenty of time to submit one’s link, every other participant of TMP have been able to do so. Weeks went by and in about November I was once again reading someone else's TMP blog post comments section and found this person's comment yet again implying they have participated for that Thursday's TMP and upon visiting their blog, yes they did. In fact they participated in about 2 or 3 TMPs after the one I left my reminder on yet they continued to not submit to my linkup widget on any of those occasions. The excuse this person initially gave was weak to begin with, now it has thoroughly collapsed.

The second participant does not have a blog, so previously they would actually participate in TMP by posting their picks in the comments section of my TMP post (so with no blog they do not do any linkup). I regard this as sufficient. Coincidentally according to my blog's comments history, this person stopped posting their picks on my blog post comments section on the May 6th 2021 Thursday Movie Picks #356: Oscar Winners Edition: Best Director. Once again I just assumed they were no longer participating in TMP; after all people come and go over the years. Then I started finding their picks on someone else's TMP blog post comments section. I found another and another on several different bloggers' blogs on several different Thursdays. This person apparently have been participating in multiple TMPs and have been posting their picks ONLY on other bloggers' comments section. It's is fine if they want to post their picks on other's comments section, but to do so without ever posting on mine even though I am the host and creator of TMP??? With this person not having their own blog I had no way of contacting them to STOP the way they have gone about participating in TMP and so this have been going on for weeks and months since MAY! If they didn’t post their picks on mine just once or occasionally…it might be because they forgot…but to do so for each TMP they participated in since May, than that is active choice and that is inexcusable, especially when they leave their picks on everyone else’s blog comments section.

So I suppose the point of this write up is to stop what has been going on, though I doubt those two participants would even see this since their failure to submit their link on my linkup widget and to post their picks in my comments section for the one without a blog seem to imply they don't want to visit my blog. Yet they want to participate in my blog series??? Anyway to other bloggers that have participated, you all have been very good. I would just like to remind you to remember to do the linkup requirements and if you are late and the linkup widget is close, you can always drop your links in the comments section, the considerate ones among you have had the initiative to do so in the past.

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So the upcoming 2022 run of Thursday Movie Picks will be the ninth year I'm doing the series.

This year the Romance Tropes Edition has returned and will of course run in February. There's also a new special edition theme for this year, the Mystery Edition, which will no doubt be fun to pick.

As you know with each year, it has been harder and harder coming up with new themes, so I will require a little help from you for some theme suggestions. I have a few dates open; SIX in total (I've highlighted the dates, but please note I may rearrange the order of all the themes on the final schedule - except for the January 6 theme which is fixed). If you're interested in submitting themes here are the submission criteria:

a) must have participated in a few TMPs and have been an active commenter on my TMP blog posts.
b) submit three (no more as I'll probably have a hard time choosing) suggestions by posting a comment on this post. Only on this post.
c) please submit suggestions by January 5.

Any questions or clarification needed please leave a comment.

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2022 Thursday Movie Picks Schedule (Preliminary)

January 6 - 2021 Releases
January 13 - Diary/Journal
January 20 - Time Loops (e.g. Groundhog Day)
January 27 - TMP Television Edition: 2021 Freshmen Series
February 3 - Romance Tropes Edition: Enemies to Lovers
February 10 - Romance Tropes Edition: Famous Person and Non-Famous Person Romance
February 17 - Romance Tropes Edition: Second Chance Love
February 24 - Romance Tropes / TMP Television Edition: Workplace Romance
March 3 - A Dig (Archeology/Paleontology)
March 10 -
March 17 -
March 24 - Gaslighting
March 31 - TMP Television Edition: Family Comedies
April 1 -
April 7 - Psychic and Mediums
April 14 -
April 21 - Environmental Wrongs/ Disasters (not a natural disaster, so something like Chernobyl)
April 28 - TMP Television Edition: Royalty
May 5 - Cinephiles in Movies
May 12 - Actors who are Real Life Family Playing Same Family Role in Movies
May 19 -
May 26 - TMP Television Edition: Home and Lifestyle Shows
June 2 - Failure to Launch (Movies that were supposed to launch a franchise)
June 9 - Fantasy
June 16 - Shopping Mall
June 23 - Island Movies
June 30 - TMP Television Edition: Origin Story
July 7 - Fairs
July 14 - Non-English Language Movies
July 21 - Combat Sports
July 28 - TMP Television Edition: Book Adaptations
August 4 - Math in Movies
August 11 - Ageing Leading Actors Cast as Much Younger Men Playing Alongside Much Younger Actresses
August 18 - Dark Academia
August 25 - TMP Television Edition: Boarding School
September 1 - Mystery Edition: Capers
September 8 - Mystery Edition: Historical Mysteries
September 15 - Mystery Edition: Media or Technology Mysteries
September 22 - Mystery Edition: Female Investigators (Private or Police)
September 29 - Mystery/TMP Television Edition: Cold Cases
October 6 - Halloween Edition: Horror Movie Themes/Scores
October 13 - Halloween Edition: The Final Girl
October 20 - Halloween Edition: New Home
October 27 - Halloween/ TMP Television Edition: Horror TV Themes/Scores
November 3 - Mazes
November 10 - Business
November 17 - Female Revenge Movies
November 24 - Book Adaptations
November 30 - TMP Television Edition: Non-English
December 1 - Art
December 8 - Retro Chic (Movies set in the present day but has a retro look)
December 15 -
December 22 - Winter Sports
December 29 -TMP Television Edition: Amnesiacs