Thursday Movie Picks #380: Halloween Edition - Horror Comedy

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 Halloween Edition - Horror Comedy

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 7 - Halloween Edition: School
October 14 - Halloween Edition: Folk or Urban Legend
October 21 - Halloween Edition: Horror Comedy
October 28 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror

I'm picking the ones I like from my most recent watches.

Ready or Not (2019)

While the basic premise is in the realm of scary, the violence is so over the top with an ending that is so out of this world that this is so obviously a comedy. One with a sharp wit, where the villains are these dumb bickering overprivileged people trying desperately to hold on to their privilege and a strong final girl that survives them all.

Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)

The movie's a satirical horror thriller set in the pretentious art world and revolves around some cursed paintings. I like it...the movie was really having fun mocking that world.

Colossal (2016)

Colossal has this Godzilla like premise where there's a giant monster stomping around a city that is bizarrely connected to a woman across the world whose life is a complete mess. The first half of this movie is sort of sad funny then it went quite dark in the second half when we meet the real villain of Colossal...one that I did not expect when the character was first introduced.

 

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Thursday Movie Picks #379: Halloween Edition - Folk or Urban Legend

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 Halloween Edition - Folk or Urban Legend

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 7 - Halloween Edition: School
October 14 - Halloween Edition: Folk or Urban Legend
October 21 - Halloween Edition: Horror Comedy
October 28 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror

 

 

So today’s theme is folk or urban legends. Can't say I really have any favourites, so I'm picking the movies I remember watching and I'll refer/link to the urban legend it references.

Urban Legend (1998)
If you're not familiar with urban legends, this would should be your first watch, as it features and is basically like an introduction to a couple of urban legends. While not great, it's not a bad movie either. I think it's one of the more memorable 90s teen horror movie.

The Babysitter

When a Stranger Calls (2006)

There apparently has been several movies that were inspired by this urban legend and this 2006 movie is also a remake of a 1979 one of the same name. I would like to see the original since it has a higher rating than the remake which I thought was one of the more forgettable 2000s movies...not much happens. 

The Hookman

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

I rewatched this sometime last year. The movie wasn't very good but it was a very nostalgic watch...it was soo 90s and starred 4 of the biggest teen movie stars (though Hewitt was the only actual teen) then. Did you know this was actually adapted from a book by Lois Duncan a YA author that was quite popular in the 70s and 80s. I read the book a few years ago and found it was very different from the movie. The book was not a teen slasher; the Hookman was something the movie added combining the story from the book and the urban legend character. While a thriller, I remember the book being more of a cautionary tale and about taking responsibility. Anyway, there's a new I Know What You Did Last Summer TV series coming out this October and I wonder if they're keeping the Hookman from the movies.

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Thursday Movie Picks #378: Halloween Edition - School

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 Halloween Edition - School

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Hey it's October again and it's time for the Halloween Edition. Take a look at what's in store for the rest of the month.

October 7 - Halloween Edition: School
October 14 - Halloween Edition: Folk or Urban Legend
October 21 - Halloween Edition: Horror Comedy
October 28 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror

So today’s theme is horror movies that take place in a school which can a bit tricky because while there are plenty of teen horror movies out there, for most of them the horror events do not take place within school grounds. Anyway here are the ones that do take place in school that I like.

The Faculty (1998)
I haven’t seen this one in a long time but I love this movie, it is so much fun to watch. I was reading it’s IMDB page and one of the reviews described it as something like The Breakfast Club alien invasion movie and I totally agree. It’s quite amazing too that even though this is set in just a regular school (not boarding) they manage to keep pretty much all of the horror at school.

Cry Wolf (2005)
I had avoided watching this when it came out because I thought the poster looked scary. However, it was added to Netflix recently so I gave it watch and I ended up liking it; it was quite a fun little gem. Basically it’s about a group of teens at a boarding school that loves playing a social deduction game called Cry Wolf (which is apparently based off a real party game called Werewolf) and when a young woman is found murdered in the woods nearby, the teens decide to expand the game to the entire school by spreading a rumour that the murderer is going after students at the school. However, weird scary stuff start to happen and they can’t tell if it’s just one of them trying to scare the others or if their games have attracted and angered the real killer.

The Blackcoat's Daughter a.k.a February (2015)
I picked this a couple of times before but it’s perfect for today’s theme since it, like Cry Wolf, also takes place at a boarding school. Except this one is an almost empty school with only two students remaining whose parents are late picking them up for winter break and the school nuns who live in a house on the school grounds. The emptiness of the school, coupled with the snowy weather just gives this sense of creepy isolation and dread.

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Thursday Movie Picks #377: 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 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 - Non-English

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I’m picking my most recent watches that I like.

Home for Christmas (2019 - 2020) 

I was apprehensive about watching anything holiday related because they give the impression of being Hallmark/Lifetime channel quality meaning very cheesy fluff. However, someone had picked this Norwegian series for their TMP last year so I gave it a try and really enjoyed it. There’s a very indie romantic comedy quality to Home for Christmas; it’s charming, heartfelt and also very funny at times.

Into the Night (2020 - )

This is the kinda of show where you just have to ignore the science and sit back and enjoy watching all the drama that comes with these characters trying to outrun the sun (which just seems futile). And I also enjoyed the international (the people on the plane and bunker are from different countries so multiple languages are spoken throughout the series) aspect of the story. 

The Chestnut Man (2020)

I am currently in the midst of watching this Danish mini series. Scandinavia is known for their dark and moody crime dramas, a couple have been remade into US TV shows like The Bridge and The Killing both of which I haven’t seen the original because they were all pre-Netflix. Anyway I have yet to finish watching The Chestnut Man but so far, while it’s not as great as Trapped (this Icelandic series is getting a third season - yay), it is still pretty decent and very bingeable.

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Thursday Movie Picks #376: Femme Fatales

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 Femme Fatales

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Didn’t want to overthink it so I’m going with the first three movies that came to mind.

Jennifer’s Body (2009)

Made a sacrifice for a rock band’s quest for fame, Jennifer comes back hungry for boys and she, a cheerleader, has no problem attracting them.

Gone Girl (2014)

Amy is so adept at playing all these different personas for love, admiration, sympathy, etc to get what she wants and for revenge.

The Jungle Book (2016)
I know femme fatales are supposed to be human or some supernatural in a female human form…but Kaa almost immediately came to mind because she is, like Jennifer in Jennifer’s Body, a literal man-eater. Kaa the python in the 1967 Disney animated movie was male but in the new live action 2016 movie is female and voiced by Scarlett Johansson who has this raspy seductive voice that hypnotises Mowgli to stay and trust in her as she slithers and wraps her body around him ready to constrict him to death. Johansson sings too, a hypnotic tune called Trust in Me, but the song I think, is only played in the end credits and I recommend you to have a listen.

 

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Thursday Movie Picks #375: Outlaws

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 Outlaws

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Another quick post today and I’m going with recent watches.

Tombstone (1993)

I’m not much into westerns so I thought this was an okay movie. Entertaining enough to keep me watching. And look how young all the actors are while Sam Elliot is basically unchanging.

 

The Magnificent Seven (2016) 

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as Tombstone. I dunno, it just feels a little too modern-ish.

Hell or High Water (2016)
When I came up with this theme, I had planned to do a theme within a theme and do an all contemporary western outlaw movies but I gave up on that notion since Hell or High Water is the only one I was able to come up with. 

 

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Thursday Movie Picks #374: Actors or Actresses Playing Themselves

 

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 Actors or Actresses Playing Themselves

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I almost forgot and was about to pick a sports personality before realising it has to be an actor or actress. Anyway today will be a quick post.

Zombieland (2009)

Bill Murray plays himself and a survivor of the zombie apocalypse who pretends to be a zombie to avoid being eaten by zombies.

 

The Big Short (2015) 

Margot Robbie as herself in a tub to explain some finance stuff because finance stuff is just so dry.

Always Be My Maybe (2019)
Keanu Reeves plays himself, a movie star dating a celebrity chef.

 

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Thursday Movie Picks #373: Oscar Winners Edition: Best Original Score and Best Original Song

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 Oscar Winners Edition: Best Original Score and Best Original Song

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BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

 

Well this was tricky. I usually only remember a score when I really like a movie and have seen it at least twice, otherwise it all just fades into the background. Anyway I'm picking the newer films for this category which is after they merged the musical/comedy with the dramatic score.

Joker (2019)

Hildur Guðnadóttir is one of the few female composers to win in any scoring category. I had not seen any the nominated films when the Oscars aired so when I finally saw the Joker much later I got it. It's a bit depressing with these heavy strings but it's good. 

 

The Social Network (2010)

I think I've only seen The Social Network in full only once, but the movie gets played on some TV channel now and then and I'd always catch bits of it and that's when I really start hearing the score and I like it.

 

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Now this one I liked immediately. Epic movies always have a distinctive sound.

 

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

 

 

A Star Is Born (2018) - Shallow
I don't really listen to pop music much nowadays so I only heard the song last year when I finally saw the movie and I love it. I like that it was more of a singer songwriter sort of tune and  I was disappointed when her character eventually went to the Pop route in her career.

 

Once (2007) - Falling Slowly

The music in Once is definitely the kind of sound I gravitate towards to so I fell in love with Falling Slowly (as well as other songs from the movie) at once and bought a bunch of albums by the two musicians after seeing the movie.

 
Aladdin (1992) - A Whole New World

Disney's musicians were in top form in the 1990s so I really had a couple of choices. I'm going with A Whole New because it is so much part of my childhood and even after almost 30 years, (I'm generally bad at remembering lyrics) this is the one that I remember most of the lyrics of.

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Thursday Movie Picks #372: TMP Television Edition - Books You Want to be Adapted into a TV Series

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 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 - Books You Want to be Adapted into a TV Series

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I don't know about you, but when I read a book I like, I start imagining it as a movie or TV series. A movie if they are shorter books or with a more focused story. A TV series, if the book is super long, with lots of characters and multiple story lines or there are cliffhangers that are already build into it that would make great bingeable episodes. Anyway here are my picks that I want to be adapted into TV series and since I'm extremely lazy to write a synopsis I screengrabbed  each book's Goodreads page.

White Cat (2010) 

This is the first book in the Curse Workers trilogy and I had talked about the book when I first read it way back 2014. I love this YA urban fantasy supernatural crime series, it is so much fun. I think we're missing that teen supernatural type of series in TV land since...I don't know...Vampire Diaries, Buffy went off air, which this series, if ever adapted, could feel that void.

 

 

 

Night Film (2014) 

I have always been super intimidated by long books so this had been on my to-read list for a long time before I finally read it. It is also about a cult horror director and the mysterious death of his daughter and with a title like Night Film I was also little scared that it was going to be scary...it wasn't really. I would describe it more as eerie, suspenseful, mysterious and dizzying but it was also quite adventurous plus the book had this fun way of presenting elements that were referenced in the story, for example, if a magazine cover or a newspaper article was mentioned, an image of it is attached, so reading the book was quite an experience. And of course with its length, it is best as a limited TV series rather that movie adaptation.

 

All the Missing Girls (2016)

I love this book, the voice, the writing and the way it is told, I think I read it at least twice. Although not a particularly long book, it is told in reverse from day 15 back to day 1, and so I think this perfectly makes each day one episode...so it'll be like a 15 episode limited series.

Sadie (2018 )

This is one of the most heartbreaking YA novels I've read. I remember Sadie being one of the buzziest books that came out in 2018, so I'm quite surprised that this haven't been made into a movie or TV series since true crime docs and podcasts are very popular and part of this book is from the perspective of a fictional radio personality who has been asked to do a true crime podcast. Anyway as I read this I imagined it as a limited TV series, where each TV episode would have like a snippet of the final cut of a podcast episode played as a voice over as we see the mystery play out on screen.  

 

The Lion's Den (2020)

I've caught a few episodes of HBO's The White Lotus, which is satire about employees and the rich guests of a tropical resort, and I think The Lion's Den adaptation could be something like that but also be more thrilling and glamorous as it follows the jetsetting, ostentatious lives of the obscenely rich who may just be evil. The book was such a fun drama/thriller to read and I would love to a see TV adaptation of it maybe by HBO or some other premium channel.

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Thursday Movie Picks #371: Treasure Hunt

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 Treasure Hunt

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I'm going with the ones I like.

As Above, So Below (2014)

A group of explorers go into the catacombs of Paris to look for the philosopher's stone. I was worried that this was going to be super scary because of the poster...but it's not overly scary...at least for me. I would say it is more creepy with some jump scares and a mix of adventure. But it is definitely not for those that are claustrophobic or have fear of the dark.

 

Three Kings (1999)
At the end of the Gulf War, a group of American soldiers hunt for stolen hidden gold. Saw this a long time ago so I don't remember much of it other than since I'm not much for military movies I was surprised that I ended up liking it and its dark humor.

The Goonies (1985)
A group of kids find an old map and go to find its treasure. This is another one I haven't seen in a long time and I'm surprised I have not picked it for any TMPs before. Anyway, I remember enjoying this one a lot and thought it was very cute and fun.

 

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Thursday Movie Picks #370: Movies that Confused You

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 Movies that Confused You

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Today's theme is a suggestion from Brittani.

Cloud Atlas (2012)
It's a confusing mess. What exactly is it trying to say? I suppose I got that it's trying to say that part of us gets passed down to our descendants or that people get reincarnated - but that's only because they use the same actors in elaborate hair and makeup to make them into different characters with some similar physical features in different periods. Without all that all the stories seem disjointed.

 

Mother! (2017)

There's a woman in a house where some crazy things happen...and guess what...the woman is Mother Earth...Right!??? This movie is like seeing a painting that looks like globs of paint were hurled onto a canvas and the artist or art expert goes on and on to give a complex explanation on what it's supposed to mean...and you'd think...but it's just globs of paint, just pretentious nonsense.

 

Tenet (2020)
Nolan has done a few of these "intellectual blockbusters" and I am generally not a fan of them. I usually love time travel movies but Tenet not so much...the whole people literally moving backwards thing...just adds another unnecessary layer of confusion. Also I feel like I have seen this before...but without the time travel...The Night Manager anyone? Even Elizabeth Debicki who stars in both plays a somewhat similar role.

 

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