Thursday Movie Picks #150: TMP Television Edition - Time Travel

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 - Time Travel

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I love time travel shows; we've already had a movie one done some time back so now its time for the TV edition and there's quite a number of time travel series still on air so I'm sure this would be a fairly easy week for everyone.

Timeless (2016 - )

The gist is a historian, a scientist and a soldier travel back in time to catch a guy who has stolen a time machine to change history. It isn't awesome awesome, but I thought this was a fun series to watch and I'm glad it eventually got picked up for a second season after the initial canceled announcement.
 
Travelers (2016 - )
Time travelers from the far future have come to the present to complete various missions in order to change the course of history to ultimately save humanity from some horrible future. One of the fun time traveling things in this is that whenever they complete a mission, they have little idea how it has affected the future from which they came from and if they're nearer or further from their end goal. The way the travelers travel back in time here is also interesting; it's a little like in the movie Source Code. Basically their consciousnesses are sent back in time to occupy the bodies of people who are about to die. 

Outlander (2014 - )

Period drama and time travel? Of course I'm in! The gist: World War 2 has just ended and Claire, a nurse, is on holiday with her husband in Scotland. It was supposed to be a chance for them to get to know each other again after years apart during the war, that is until she got swept back in time to 1743 Scotland. I love season one, it was all about Claire getting over the shock of finding herself in a different time and trying to survive 18th century Scotland (like having to marry a guy, despite being already married in the 20th century, because being a single lady with no kin is not so safe), a period and country she knows little about. The second season had the whole thing about trying to restore a Stuart on the throne again, which I didn't really enjoy. I mean sure they went to Paris, wore gorgeous costumes and did the whole trying to change history thing, but I sort of like it when it was just Claire and Jamie trying to live a life where one of them is from a different time. Anyway, I'm soooo looking forward to the third season because of where the second left off.

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Thursday Movie Picks #142: TMP Television Edition - Period Drama

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple 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 - Period Drama

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If you've read my blog for some time, you may know that I love period dramas, so finally I get to talk TV period dramas. I'm going to do two theme within a theme just because there are so many good ones, and it's such an impossible task to narrow down to so few, so bear with me because today will be a long post.

Based on a Book

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Based on the Jane Austen novel. While I do enjoy the 2005 movie, I think I love this TV adaptation more. Being longer it gets more of the book in and it just feels less glossy/prettied up. Now if you've never seen a period drama or unfamiliar with Jane Austen, start with this one. It's pretty light and is full of Austen's sharp humour.
 
North & South (2004)
Based on the Elizabeth Gaskell novel. If you love Pride and Prejudice, you have to check this one out (Thornton might be your new Darcy)! It's a great romantic drama that is sort of like Pride and Prejudice; the guy is proud, the girl is prejudiced. However it's set several decades later in England during the industrial revolution, featuring class struggles and the issues facing the working class, so the tone is darker. Despite the bleakness, it is such a beautiful miniseries; great score and those scenes with the cotton, like snow, floating in the mill were just ironically gorgeous.

Jane Eyre (2006)

Based on the novel by Charlotte Brontë. If you feel the different movie adaptations feel condensed, this is an excellent TV adaptation to check out. Both leads are great, especially Ruth Wilson who I think does well with silent scenes that's just the small expressions on her face. They tend to do a TV adaptation of Jane Eyre every decade, so I think we are probably due one soon.

Little Dorrit (2008)
Based on the novel by Charles Dickens. It has the usual interlinking stories that is common in Dickens books (at least the ones I'm familiar with), but overall I found this is just a very charming drama and Claire Foy was just really good in this one.

Emma (2009)
Based on the Jane Austen novel. Probably the best Emma adaptation, other than Clueless. Emma usually has the best intentions but goes about it the wrong way because she's young and a little ermm...clueless...anyway it's a light and funny watch that makes me happy.


Based on Real Events/Characters 

Peaky Blinders (2013 -)
So very very loosely based on a real gang, that is a youth gang in the late 19th century Birmingham. I don't think the series actually depicts any of the real members. Instead it follows, I assume, the fictional Shelby family as they run their legitimate and criminal business. Anyway I found the series to be a very well made fast paced drama that manages to marry rock music well with the early 20th century setting. Cillian Murphy plays the leader of the family and he is soo good in this. 

Boardwalk Empire  (2010-2014)
Set in the Prohibition era of the 1920s Atlantic City featuring some real life gangsters in, I assume, mostly fictional storylines. Have only seen the first two seasons or so, really like it and hope to pick up again soon. I actually saw it before Peaky Blinders and when I did see Peaky Blinders, I thought wouldn't it be great if Boardwalk Empire was still on air and there was a crossover episode. 

Black Sails (2014 -)
It's actually a prequel of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, so it's fictional but it also features several real life characters in fictional roles which is sort of awesome. I love naval period dramas, so I am really enjoying this. 

Wolf Hall (2015 -)

Love historical dramas and the Tudor period is just fascinating. This one is from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell during his time at Henry VIII's court and I think this mini series is probably the best depiction of the time and place...not that I'm a historian and can say for sure, but I definitely notice it's effort; it looked like it shot on location for most of the scenes, it burned a lot of candles, used music that seemed to be from the time and the actors all stood and carried themselves like in the Holbein paintings. Also good performance all round especially Mark Rylance and Claire Foy. 

The Crown (2016 -) 

It's that Netflix series about Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Was a little unsure about it since Netflix tend to do more contemporary things and not period/historical dramas. Anyway, so glad this turned out to be good. Incredibly well made and can't wait for season 2.

 

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Thursday Movie Picks #137: TMP Television Edition - Superheroes/Super Powers

Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple 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 - Superheroes/Super Powers

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I think my favourite Thursday now is the last Thursday because it's the Television Edition. As I've mentioned before, because I now have subscribe to a streaming service, I watch a lot more TV and I have been yearning to talk about them. I have also been really looking forward to today's theme because I just love this genre.

Daredevil (2015 - )

I think it's the best out of the Netflix Marvel series for now, we'll have to see how Iron Fist is when it premieres in March. The fight choreography in this is just so good and it feels more gritty when we see both Daredevil and whoever he is fighting with gasp for breath and struggle to be the better fighter. My favourite overall is the first season; it had a better villain, a mortal villain. With the arrival of Elektra in the second season, we'd probably see more supernatural elements which I don't really like. Anyway... I have to say I love the costume choices in Daredevil; in season 1 Daredevil simply wore like a black shirt and like tied a black bandanna to cover his eyes. Season 2 he got a little upgrade, which still looks modest and suits Matt's character. I especially like Elektra's costume, which was like this simple black top with a red turtle neck that she uses to cover her face, which is so much more practical and looks so so much better than the corset outfit Jennifer Garner had to wear as Elektra in the movies. Let's just hope Elektra's costume remain practical in season 3.
 
Jessica Jones  (2015 - )
We don't get a lot of female superheroes, so yay for Jessica Jones. Like Daredevil, this one is also pretty dark and gritty. So the gist is that she's a person with special abilities, who after suffering from a recent trauma decides to run a private detective business, lay low and not be a hero. I came to watch this knowing very little about Jessica Jones as I had never heard of the character before and I think I enjoyed the series a lot in part because I didn't know what she was up against. I think this series truly has the most terrifying villain ever because not only is he nuts...his power is the kind that you never want anyone to have. 

The Flash (2014 - )

I could not watch Gotham, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow past the first few episodes. Arrow is okay but just don't think too much because everything will seem stupid once you start to, as characters like die and get resurrected, so basically there are no stakes? Anyway....out of the DC comics superhero TV shows, I think The Flash is the best. A lot of it probably has to do with Grant Gustin just being great as Barry Allen. Even when the show gets bloated with its 20+ episode season and sometimes ridiculous plots, Barry still seems like a real person.

Heroes  (2006 - 2010)
So you may have heard of a series that had a great first season and just went a downward spiral afterwards...yeah it was Heroes. The show was not based on a comic book, which was really refreshing but yet looked like it was and had characters and story we didn't know about, so it was all very fascinating the first season. Unfortunately the show just wasn't able to capitalize on that the rest of the seasons so I'd say stick to just watching the first season. Even the new sequel series in 2015, Heroes Reborn was bad and pretty much had characters running in circles asking where's Claire! I'm like,  Claire knows better than to return to the sinking ship.

Misfits (2009 -2013)  
This is a gem. Love it. It's a UK show, so I'm guessing not a lot of people outside of UK would have seen it? I do think it's now available on a couple of streaming services, so if it's on yours, add it to your queue. The gist is; 5 juvenile delinquents (about late teens early 20-ish youths?) are stuck doing community service at their community center when they get hit by lightning during a freak storm and get some special abilities. The whole series is basically about them learning about their powers and dealing with other people who were also caught in the storm and now have powers as well. A lot of the powers in this are interesting in that they often relate to who the characters are as a person. For example, there is runner who develops the ability to sort of time travel and another I assume was probably a gamer and when hit by the storm is somewhat stuck in seeing the world like a video game, specifically something that looks like a Grand Theft Auto game. Iwan Rheon, Ramsay Bolton in Game of Thrones, is in this too and he plays a painfully shy guy who has the power of invisibility and his character has the best character arc in the series. There's 5 seasons in total but as this is a UK series they're short seasons. I would say the first 2 seasons are the best because the original cast is intact. The 3rd season is still great but sad because 3 more characters would exit the show by the end of it. Be warned that the show is not afraid to kill its main characters, so brace your hearts. That said the show is also often very very funny. In short go watch it!

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Weekly Recap #15: The Infinite Sea, Lullabies, The Flash, TMNT ...

I haven't been doing this for a while partly because I just wasn't able to squeeze writing a post and partly because some the TV shows I was following went on mid season break and so there wasn't  much to recap on the TV side. That said the mid season break has certainly threw me off the TV watching momentum and I haven't got back on to watching even though some of the series have comeback from their break. I guess now I have to wait for them to either air marathons or wait for the DVDs which probably means September or October.

Read

The Infinite Sea
This is the second book of the Fifth Wave series by Rick Yancey. If you haven't heard of this series before you will very soon since its been made into a movie with Chloe Moretz as the lead to be released in 2016. I read the first book, the Fifth Wave, a year and a half ago and I have to say getting back into the world in The Infinite Sea was difficult because I remember very little of what happened in the first book. Usually I rely on a website called The Recaptains where a group of bloggers recap books from YA series to help readers get into the next book in a series but unfortunately this time it didn't help at all. Basically I was totally lost and it affected my enjoyment of the Infinite Sea. I think in part it was also because in the first book I was more invested in what happened to the main characters and in the second book the secondary characters have a greater role in the story and I just can't remember who they were. Do you ever get that? Read a book and come across characters that you remember nothing about?

Lullabies
Sometime in 2013 I began seeing Love & Misadventure Lang Leav's first book of poetry on Tumblr. Now I don't really read poetry beyond the epigraphs in books or poems that are referenced in books/movies/TV but the cover of Love & Misadventure, which was very pretty, attracted me to it. I was initially surprised by how short and simple the poetry was but there was a touch of whimsy to them and I actually like a couple plus I suppose it is its simpleness that makes it accessible to non poetry readers like me. Anyway Lullabies came out last year so naturally I decided to check it out and I have a much different reaction to this. I used to think the poet's poetry was short and cute, now with this second book I'm of the opinion that it's simplistic, too childlike and cliche. So my question again is, is this poetry? Because they sound more and more like little love notes between lovers and quotes found in greeting cards. But what really made me want to chuck this book halfway through it was that it's full of romantic love poems: finding love, being in love and heartbreak. What about regret, failure, guilt, shame, fear, contentment, anger...I'm sure these emotions would have made great themes for poetry too? I mean I get it, the poet's probably in love or out of love or whatever but with a title like Lullabies I expected it to have moved away from the themes of love which was already well explore in Love & Misadventure. I probably won't recommend Lullabies but I am now terribly curious what people who actually read poetry would think of it.

Watched

TV

The Flash
I've only watched a few episodes so I am totally not up to date with the series at all but I am loving it thus far. I used to watch the 90's series but I remember nothing of it, so the story is like new to me. I was a little worried that the series wasn't going to hold me being too episodic with a meta human of the week to torment Barry, but so far they have done a good job of weaving the normal everyday drama and the continuing mystery of who murdered Barry's mother into the narrative so there is definitely something to look forward to the next week. Now I like Arrow (the series the Flash spins off from) but Oliver is very reserved, distant and guarded so much so it's very hard to see any emotion from him. In contrast, Barry wears his heart on his sleeve; we get to see the full extent of his emotions (like his excitement over the cool stuff he can do with his new powers which is very cute) and that just make him a much more human, likeable and endearing character. He and all his friends are a lot more fun to watch. And I love that Barry's rival in the romance department is such a nice guy. Barry just can't hate him and neither can we. I know there's a The Flash movie coming in 2018(?) and it's interesting that they have another actor, Ezra Miller, in the title role. I mean I know this has been done before with Superman Returns/Smallville but Grant Gustin who plays Barry in this series is just so good as Barry. And if the movie is another origin story that begins at the same point...I really don't see the point of the movie version within 3 years of the TV series.

American Idol

The new season has just started. They started off the show a little differently this time around by letting us hear, but not see, the finalists singing...I guest it's meant to give the audience a taste of the talent we can look forward too. I also noticed they've been showing fewer of the wacky attention-seeking auditions, good move because I can't stand them. Next week is the hollywood week which is always intense for the contestants and fun for us to watch.

Movies

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

I used to be watch this series a lot as a kid and I enjoyed recognizing characters, looking for their quirks and hearing out their catchphrases. But beyond the nostalgia, this movie did not hold my attention. The thing is I'm not fond of action movies, so I didn't care for the action here where I suppose was where much of the budget went too. The characters: I know the turtles were different sizes, they wore different eyebands, had different weapons, one was flirty, another was a techie, but seriously I couldn't match which characteristics to which turtle, which I think I could when I saw the cartoons. Here they seem like just a blur of turtles. And I have to say, seeing a live action TMNT movie is just weird. The turtles were weird. They're like turtles on steroids. I mean they were suppose to be Ninjas! Does the word "Ninja" conjure up images of muscled characters? No right! And I don't remember the cartoon turtles to be muscled so I don't get that desicion. Then there was Megan Fox as April. I get why she was casted but Megan Fox is not April! She's just too sexy and not enough ambitious journalist so it just didn't work from the start. If you like the cartoons, I'd say just stick to the cartoons.

Crush (2013)

There's so many of these crazy obsessive crush movies and though this isn't a great movie I do think it offers at least something interesting: it actually presents three simultaneous crush/stalker relationships highlighting that the line between harmless crush and plain crazy stalking is just so fine. The movie also plays up on the mystery of the secret admirer who's the real crazy one out of the three and yet there's something that gives away the identity before the movie even begins so I'm confused whether are we suppose to know? Or are we suppose to not know which means someone really screwed up and gave the identity away unintentionally?

Weekly Recap #14: Deadline, Downton Abbey, The Walking Dead

Read

Deadline by Mira Grant

Recently finished the second book of the Newflesh trilogy about a bunch of bloggers uncovering some conspiracies set in a post zombie apocalypse world where blood tests and showers with bleach and sterilization of clothes are a part of every day life I really enjoyed the first book but this second one not as much. I suppose it's because we follow a new narrator, Shaun, who's not as likable. He is quite a jerk. Plus I think there was less zombie action here and more of just driving around and waiting things out.

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Watched

Movies 

A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

This was boring. I tuned out from the second half. Some of the jokes are quite funny but the lead actor has a monotous kinda voice and his delivery is just not expressive enough for an outright comedy. It's seem like it would be more suited for a satire or dark comedy for which this movie is neither. 

TV

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 5

Yes! Miss Bunting finally leaves. Good riddance. In her final goodbye to Tom, she tells him that she loves him and Tom actually has this painful winced expression like he wished she didn't confess it. She is just awful! She presumes too much that Tom likes her just as she presumes she can say whatever she thinks at those dinners she attends but just ends up being a rude guest. And Edith! She is the stupidest of all the Crawley sisters and now she is about to ruin the farmer's family.

From Dusk Till Dawn Season 1 Episode 3

I like this episode the least. It is not bad but Seth and Richie hardly share a scene together, and it's the great dialogue between the two that I love. Richie once again goes in and out of madness which makes us wonder how much of the shit he does Seth can tolerate.

Gotham Season 1 Episode 5

Penguin comes clean with his new boss and we finally see what Fish is planning with her protege. I think the show should show less of Bruce because the whole thing of making him a mini adult is just not working. 

Revenge Season 4 Episode 4

DC is out in public! He set the whole thing up right? Because it was a way to be able to walk freely instead of confessing that he faked his death...right? And surely he sees through Victoria's lies? 

The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 2

I thought we'd see Morgan this week but nope. Not a fan of Bob, he's probably one of the weakest characters in the show...but the end of this episode was just so horrific. Reminds me of Sin City. And did Daryl really see Beth in the car? The car went by fast and I didn't catch anything.

Weekly Recap #13: Godzilla, Downton Abbey, The Walking Dead

 Read

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

When I first saw this book on a book blogger's blog I thought why is she reading an IKEA catalogue. It's not. It's a book about a fictional haunted retail store which is a ripoff of IKEA. I love the whole concept and the book's packaging. The story starts off strong. It got a little weird in the middle when the ghosts start to appear but the end was pretty good. 

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Watched

Movies 

Brotherhood of the Wolf

I watched this a long time ago and couldn't remember much of it and so a rewatch was in order. I actually thought it's about a werewolf which it is so not. I loved the way the main characters were introduced. They were wearing the trench coats that covered half their face as featured in the movie  poster. It created a great air of mystery to who these men were. The movie had some nice pretty scenery shots and costuming, but the story just wasn't for me.

Godzilla

Am I the only person who didn't know what's going on half the time. I mean I know the electricity was messed up and so no good lighting but it was just so dark I didn't know what I was looking at for most of the action scenes.

TV

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 4

Miss Bunting is so irritating. Can they drop her please? It's getting old. She does the same thing every episode. In other news, Cousin Violet gets a marriage proposal from a Lord. I think it's so cute! But I thought that doctor and her kinda like each other. Aren't they always having tea or something?

From Dusk Till Dawn Season 1 Episode 2

I am loving this show. Love the dialogue between Seth and Richie. Richie is showing more of his insane-ness. My theory is that Carlos hypnotized him to make sure he delivers the money across the border. We also meet some new characters in this episode as well; the family with the RV. From the promos, I suppose they will cross path with the Gecko brothers pretty soon.

Gotham Season 1 Episode 4

I think this series may be losing me a little. I hope Gotham doesn't become too episodic, what with a new mad men/killer every week. I'm liking the Penguin development but everything else is just so meh. And can Gordon please stop confiding in Bruce about police/government corruption! He's like what 11?

Revenge Season 4 Episode 3

DC found Emily. He should recognise her right? I mean the last time they met should be when Emily was a teenager. Plus how could he not know Amanda has been masquerading as Emily. I know he was holed up in a cave the last decade but surely he was curious what his enemies were doing all this time, and if ever checked out about any them in any media, he would have come across Emily right? Right?

The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 1

I binged watch season 4 in time for the premiere of season 5 earlier this week. Season 4 was so-so. I really didn't like when the survivors were separated and whole episode s sometimes just focused on one small group. I don't think some of the characters story was strong enough to carry one whole episode. So I'm glad the gang has finally met up with each other in the premiere. As expected the sanctuary is messed up. How did the sanctuary people go from being the "cattle" to purposely baiting people to come to the sanctuary? At the end of the episode my mom was like saying  Rick's group is pretty large now and I said that can only mean one thing - one or two of them won't survive the season.

Weekly Recap #12: Blindless, Gotham, From Dusk Till Dawn...

Read

Blindness by José Saramago

The book has an interesting premise of a blindness pandemic. I think it is less about not having sight but more on exploring what people would do when they know they are not monitored by people around them. Will they continue to regulate their own behaviors like they used to or will they not, now that there is no one to literally see and judge them doing uncouth and uncivilized things. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie which was made a few years ago. The book went to some dark places and I wonder if the movie took it that far.

Fallen by Lauren Kate 
This is another YA book that has been turned into a movie, set to be release next year. I've never been attracted to angel theme books because I don't like when books get religious and preachy. The very few angel theme ones I've read are on the fantasy, romance or apocalyptic side. Fallen is more fantasy/romance and I like this the least. Firstly it has a love triangle which is just so overused in YA books. Secondly we all already know Daniel is a fallen angel and that Luce and Daniel are a cursed couple (its in the book synopsis) and the book in the doesn't really go beyond being just a story about Luce finding out what we already know about Daniel and Luce. Thirdly nothing is ever explained. The shadows? The love story; we are just suppose to take that Luce and Daniel have this epic eternal love without giving any foundation to their love story? Why are they cursed? Fourth, why are the fallen angels all in one place masquerading not only as humans and but also that they are friends even when they are on different sides. I suppose things are left unresolved for the purpose of enticing its readers to read the 2nd book (it's a 4 book series), but having read the first book...not sure I'd pick up the second

TV

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 3

Edith has become irritating again. It was a bad idea bringing the child so near and now she's meddling in the rearing of the girl. Whoa Mary! Will she drop Gillingham...sure looks like it. And can everyone stop inviting Miss Bunting upstairs!

Gotham Season 1 Episode 3

Am I missing something from the end of episode 2. So Gordon and Bullock caught the creepy kidnappers, but obviously something bigger is going on there right? I thought episode 3 was going to dig deeper into the case. But instead it's about a balloon vigilante?

Revenge Season 4 Episode 2

What is wrong with Charlotte? she like latches on any new guy that comes around? And now with the fire? She's getting nuttier and people are so going to find out because it's so obviously arson...

From Dusk Till Dawn Season 1 Episode 1

I vaguely remember the movie. It had George Clooney and Selma Hayek with a snake and crazy club filled with vampires...that's about it. It has since been made into a TV series and I'm so glad one the cable channels is airing it albeit a little late. The first episode is explosive! Even though I can't remember which actors played what role in the movie, every time I see Seth Gecko speak I can imagine George Clooney speaking the same lines. Clooney obviously played this role in the movie and I'm right after checking IMDB. I love how they dressed the Gecko brothers in this. They look like they jumped out of some fashion magazine of course and just so out of place. Which in a way works because they so obviously are and so out of their depth with the turn of events or more like Richie being a little trigger happy. And Richie and those glasses...he does look insane doesn't he? Overall this series looks promising. I like the dialogue between the brothers, their relationship is interesting and I can't wait for the second episode.