Thursday, November 28, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #281: TMP Television Edition - Dystopian/Apocalyptic



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 TMP Television Edition - Dystopian/Apocalyptic

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There are plenty of dystopian/apocalyptic series to choose from, so I'm picking ones that I've seen the past year.

Daybreak (2019 -)
Zombie horror comedy series following a teen boy and his friends as they navigate the new world and search for his girlfriend. If you're tired of The Walking Dead, this is a nice change. I'd describe it as Mad Max-like high school zombie comedy with hints of Dawn of the Dead and Ferris Bueller.

The Society  (2019 -)
When their class trip is cut short, the teens return home to find their town completely empty of everyone else. I expected this to be terrible, but it surprised me, I ended up liking it. If you enjoy The 100, I think you might like this, it has the whole teens trying to survive on their own thing. Or if you like Lord of Flies...there are definitely Lord of the Flies moments here too. Then there's also the added mystery aspect to what is actually going on. Are the teens in a post apocalyptic world where everyone else has perished? Or are they part of some sociological/anthropological experiment? Or are they in purgatory? The first season ended with an ugly leadership change, let's see how terribly that pans out in the upcoming season two.

The Umbrella Academy (2019 -)
Super powered infants were adopted 30 years ago by an eccentric rich man to form a band of superheroes. However things did not go as planned and the children grew apart. Now the adult siblings have reunited when they learned of their adopted father's mysterious death. Oh I like this. It's basically this quirky story about these super powered people who never quite lived up to their potential/expectations and now might just be the only people who can stop an imminent apocalypse and oh there's time travel too. It's very interesting, funny and has a nice soundtrack as well.

Dark (2017 - )
In 2019 in a German town surrounded by thick woods, children have gone missing. As the community search for answers and tension increases, some of the townspeople are reminded of a similar occurrence 33 years ago. I absolutely love the first season. The second season is not as great but I still like it. I have to say that this is a very ambitious series, there's a lot to follow with the story being set in 5 to 6 time periods, so we often see the same characters as a child, adult and senior person throughout the series and then there are the time travelers who able to stay the same age and just move through the different time periods. The second season had I think two big revelations one involving the priest character which just shows how intricately tangled up these characters lives are and how could they ever extricate themselves from the mess? Anyway we will be getting a season three which is the final season so hopefully they would be able to end the series well.


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Thursday, November 21, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #280: Over a Meal



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 Over a Meal

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Wow this is quite a tricky one, but I've managed to come up with four to do a theme within a theme. You definitely do not want to be invited to these dinner parties.

Rope (1948)
Two young men murders their friend and proceeds to host a dinner party right after as if nothing had happened, just to show they could get away with it. I like dialogue heavy movies and this is it, just people talking into the night as tension increases and it is very good.

The Invitation (2015) 
Out of the blue a man receives an invitation to a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife and her new partner and the evening has an unsettling air to it the moment he arrives. This has a slow build up but in a good way. There's this ever present feeling of dread, you know something terribly bad is going to happen, just not what and why and who really is the crazy one until the final act.

The Beguiled (2017)
The arrival of a wounded Union deserter at a girls school in Virginia causes tension within the household. The whole movie is not over a dinner, but there is a big, yet quiet tension filled scene at the end of the movie that is over dinner and it just stood out. I definitely did not expect that to happen when I started watching the movie.

Le jeu (2018)
Remake of the Italian film Perfetti Sconosciuti. Three couples and their friend meet for dinner. Bored they decide to play a game where they share texts, emails and calls that pop up on their cell phones that ends disastrously. I've picked this movie twice before, still I have to pick it once more because it's perfect for this theme, also I really enjoyed it. Not as dark as the other movies, but you'd definitely do not want to play that game at a dinner party, it would likely ruin relationships.

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Thursday, November 14, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #279: Politics



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 Politics

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I do not watch a lot of movies about politics so I thought it was going to be hard to find any picks until I realised I've seen these three. Anyway I'm picking a theme within a theme.

A Man for All Seasons (1966)
I've picked this before, it is one of my favourites. The man of course is Thomas More, Lord Chancellor during Henry VIII's reign who refuses to publicly endorse some of the king's major actions which eventually led to his trial and execution. If you like dialogue heavy and courtroom dramas, I recommend this.

Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
This is another favourite that I've picked before and if you've seen A Man for All Seasons you have to watch this movie too because it covers what happens after Henry VIII got his way and married Anne Boleyn, but not for very long. I'm sure court life under the reign of anyone is a political minefield, but this Tudor court is spectacularly so and makes great drama for the screen. The movie also looks very pretty and I like Geneviève Bujold's performance as Anne. And if you like both A Man for All Seasons and Anne of a Thousand Days, check out the excellent TV mini-series Wolf Hall which is from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell, another political player from the same period.

Lady Jane (1986) 
Henry VIII is dead and because there are issues with his successors, his grand niece Lady Jane makes a play for the throne which does not pan out, suffice to say she did not wear the crown for very long. See the common theme with my picks now; all set during the Tudor period and (historical spoiler alert!) all the title characters lost their head. While I enjoyed this movie, it is not a favourite like the two above, but it fits with my theme.

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Thursday, November 7, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #278: Scientists



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 Scientists

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I'm picking recent watches that feature scientists.

The Lazarus Effect (2015) 
A group of medical researchers carry out experiments to bring the dead back to life which go terribly wrong. This was just an ok watch. It is sort of like a mash up of Pet Sematary and Flatliners only less memorable.

The Martian (2015)
 An astronaut is stranded on Mars after his team leaves thinking he was dead. The astronaut here is also a botanist and he uses his expertise to survive his long stay before help could ever reach him. I really enjoyed this one, it's a feel good drama with the whole "guy survives against all odds" thing going for it and it is quite funny as well. My only complain is that it is too long.

Annihilation (2018)
A biologist joins a team sent on a secret expedition to a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don't seem to apply and where those who have ventured into it before have not returned. I like this one too. Super creepy and that ending.

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