Wandering through the Shelves

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #245: Private Eye

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 Private Eye

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When I came up with this theme, I thought I had a few choices to choose from, I was wrong. I really haven't seen that many, but here are the ones I like.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
I have not seen this in a long time, so I can't remember much other than it's is a murder mystery set against the showbiz world. I do remember liking it and finding it funny and would like to rewatch this again some time.

Gone Baby Gone (2007)
This is one of my more recent watches. I totally did not guess the turn the story took.

The Nice Guys (2016)

I really enjoyed this. The banter between the characters are funny. I think that this could actually make a good TV series if they can cast decent actors to fill the roles played by Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in the movie.

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Thursday, March 14, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #244: Movies You Thought You'd Hate But Ended Up Enjoying

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Movies You Thought You'd Hate But Ended Up Enjoying [Suggested by Brittani]

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Today's theme is a suggestion from Brittani. I think because, I usually avoid those that I think I won't like, and even if I do watch them out of curiosity, rarely would it ever end up with me really enjoying them, so it's quite a surprise to come up with three today.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Being not really into musicals, I was very reluctant to see this and because it had been someone else's movie choice, I was sure I was going to have a terrible time and hate it. How wrong I was! I loved it from the very first scene.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

I don't think I thought I would hate it but I didn't think I was going to like it either. The Planet of the Apes story had not interest me before so I had not watch the original nor the Time Burton remake, which did not look good. Anyway, only the good buzz from this one persuaded me to watch it and I loved it.

Dredd (2012)
Dredd is familiar to me in name as that Judge Dredd movie featuring Sylvester Stallone, not that I watched it. Movies with overly muscular hero guys are not my thing and Judge Dredd had just looked awful. Anyway, I watched Dredd because of the positive buzz and out of curiosity but didn't think I would actually like it, but I do.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #243: Cold War

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Cold War

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I haven't seen that many cold war movies, so my choices today are limited. I am picking the ones I like.

Barbara (2012)
The Gist: Set in 1980's East Germany, flagged as a potential defector, Barbara, a doctor, comes under the surveillance of the Stasi and is fearful that her neighbours and colleagues have also become Stasi informants. This one was quiet and quite scary with its atmosphere of suspicion and distrust.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
The Gist: An insane paranoid general deploys a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. I've picked this one several times before and once again here. There are not many, if any, cold war comedies; somehow Dr Strangelove manages to take a situation that is terrifying, it's still terrifying but also make it funny. This is one of those must watch movies.

Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
The Gist: News reporter Edward R. Murrow challenges Senator Joseph McCarthy and expose him for fear mongering. It's been a long time since I've seen this so I don't remember much other than I had liked it and found the story interesting.

The Lives of Others (2006)
The Gist:A Stasi officer conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover becomes increasing absorbed by their lives. Once again it's been a long time since I've seen this so I don't remember much of this now, but I do remember liking it. I'd say watch this and then Barbara.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, February 28, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #242: TMP Television Edition - Book to TV Adaptations

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 - Book to TV Adaptations

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I'm picking series that I've watched last year that I like but have not read the books/comics.

The Alienist (2018 - )
The Gist: Set in 19th century NYC, a psychologist, a newspaper illustrator and a secretary with the NYPD investigate a serial killer who is murdering street children. I've picked this last month and once again today because it fits the theme well. This is getting a second season so I'm looking forward to it

Anne with an E (2017 - )

The Gist: The series follows the life of a young orphan girl adopted by two elderly siblings who live on Prince Edward Island. It's getting a third season and continues to be good. I would say the second season is much less darker in tone than the first.

The End of the F***ing World (2017 - )
The Gist: A boy who thinks he's a psychopath and the new girl at school run away together so that the girl can search for her real father. This is a very dark and sharply funny series.This series is also getting a second season which was a surprise since I thought one of the characters was mortally wounded...but perhaps not?

The Haunting of Hill House (2018 - )
The Gist: A broken family confronts the haunting memories of their time at Hill House after a tragedy. This is for me the best new 2018 series and one of the best ghost stories that really takes its time to tell the story. Anyway this is getting a second season too which is another surprise. I mean wasn't the just one season perfect on its own. However, apparently it is going to be an anthology series, so perhaps it's a haunting of a new place?

The Man in the High Castle (2015 - )
The Gist: The series is set in a alternate history world where the Axis powers won World War II; the US has been divided into two with the East under Nazi occupation and the West under the Japanese and there is an illusive Man in the High Castle trading/collecting(?) mysterious films that give glimpses of a different outcome to the war that gives the resistance hope. I have not picked this series before so have yet had the chance to talk about it so bear with me. This series is soo soo interesting and gets better each season. There's so much political intrigue, a lot of it stems from Hitler being sick and dying so the senior Nazi leaders are all vying to be his successor while the rest of the party are divided trying to align themselves with who they think would succeed which is treacherous. Hitler's imminent death also means that the alliance with the Japanese is in peril which puts the Western resistance in a conundrum, should they continue their attacks to weaken the Japanese which could also leave them open to an invasion and occupation by possibly a worse master. The series is an alternate history political thriller drama but there's a also a science fiction element to the story that is so intriguing with the reels of films that is explored more and more in the second and third season. The series will air its fourth and final season this year and I can't wait!

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #241: Starring Real Life Couples

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Starring Real Life Couples

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I'm picking movies I like featuring once or current real life couples that play a couple in them.

Gattaca (1997)
The Gist: Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman star in a movie about a genetically inferior man assuming the identity of a genetically superior man to fulfill his space travel ambitions. Love this movie. It's a thought-provoking science fiction that visually looks both cold and stylishly beautiful.

Cruel Intentions (1999)
The Gist: Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon star as the doomed lovebirds in a modern retelling of Les Liasons dangereuses set among wealthy teens in NYC. This one is over the top and fun; a little like Gossip Girl but more vicious. When I saw this way way back then, I thought the actors were all playing adult characters because they were playing very adult games and we don't actually get to see them go to school until the end of the movie.

Jeux d'enfants aka Love Me If You Dare (2003)

The Gist: Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard star as childhood friends who continue to play their often reckless and dangerous game of dares which also cause each to distrust the other's feelings for them. I love this one when I saw it a long time ago; would love to see it again. It has a sort of quirky visual style like Amelie but with a story that is a lot less sweet and with more dark humour.

The Woodsman (2004)
The Gist: Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick star in a movie about a convicted sex offender who returns to his hometown and tries to start a new life. This movie deals with a hard subject matter which I think probably made it an underwatched movie. It has been a long time since I've seen this, but I thought the movie was well made and handled the challenging theme in a thought provoking manner. Also Kevin Bacon puts in a great performance.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #240: Romantic Comedies

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Romantic Comedies

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Is it me, or are there fewer romantic comedies this decade (not counting those terrible made for TV Hallmark/Lifetime ones of course) than the 90s or noughties? Anyway here are some recent ones that I love.

Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

The Gist: A magician is invited by a friend to help him unmask a young charming spiritualist as a fraud. This was such a cute and charming movie. Great scenery, gorgeous costumes and Emma Stone was just adorable, of course everyone would believe that her character was some kind of a medium/psychic. Loved the twist too.

Set It Up (2018)
The Gist: Two assistants decide to matchmake their workaholic bosses, so that they wouldn't work so much. This was such a fun comedy. Love the banter and the two leads had great chemistry.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)
The Gist: A teen girl's secret love letters (ones that were never meant to be sent) get mysteriously mailed out to her crushes. I've read the trilogy of books and enjoyed them and I had hoped the movie would be good and it is! So good. It's cute, funny and the leads have great chemistry as well. I also loved how the movie had a character literally open the door to a sequel...which we a re getting! My guess is this is on its way to becoming a classic teen movie on par with 10 Things I Hate About You which everyone watches and is actually very good.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #239: Revenge

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Revenge

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I'm picking slightly older films today two of which are my favourites and have been picked before.

The Prestige (2006)

The Gist: After a tragic accident, two magicians become enemies, continually sabotaging each other's acts as revenge. I love this one. It's revenge tale, it's a mystery and a behind the scenes look at very secretive profession all rolled into one.

Léon: The Professional (1994)
The Gist: After her family is killed by a corrupt cop, a young girl seeks help from her professional hitman neighbour to train her so she can carry out her own revenge. Another one of my favourites.

The Page Turner (2006)
The Gist: A young girl fails her piano exam when she becomes distracted by one of the tester's thoughtless behaviour so years later the girl seeks revenge when she becomes the tester's page turner. I have not seen this a long time but I remember it to be a tense thriller as the audience awaits what the girl would actually do.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #238: TMP Television Edition - 2018 Freshmen Series

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is TMP Television Edition - 2018 Freshmen Series

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Hey, so today is the first TV edition of the year. How was your 2018 TV year? Discovered some great new shows? I think 2017 might have been a better year of freshmen series, but 2018 was a decent and here are the standouts for me.

Good Girls (2018 - )

The Gist: Three suburban mothers in desperate financial circumstances rob a supermarket only to find themselves against the gang that have been laundering their money through that supermarket and now have to pay back the money and more. I didn't have much of an expectation for this, knowing very little about it. Turns out it is a real good crime dramedy, it is often really funny and I really enjoyed it.

The Alienist (2018 - )
The Gist: Set in 19th century NYC, a psychologist, a newspaper illustrator and a secretary with the NYPD investigate a serial killer who is murdering street children. This is dark and the whole psychology and forensics being newly used in an investigation of a crime aspect of it is very interesting. While I do like the series, I didn't love it. Something is lacking...I think the dialogue could have been a little more restrained and subtle.

The Kominsky Method (2018 - )

The Gist: The series follows an aging actor now making a living as an acting coach and his agent best friend. I totally forgot about this when I picked for comedies last year. This is easily the best comedy that I have seen recently. It is just so sweet, funny and heartwarming. I like the cast too, great chemistry.

McMafia (2018 - )

The Gist: An English-raised son of Russian mafia exiles, now living the ordinary life, is drawn into the criminal underworld when his uncle's plan for their family's return to Russia backfires. Based on a non-fiction book about global organised crime, the tv series puts a fictional family in the center through which we see how organised crime works on a global scale. This sort of reminds me a little of Contagion in that there are a lot of interconnected moving pieces; while there is the main family that the story follows here, there are also these smaller pieces taking place in far flung places and we see how these smaller gangs are connected to the bigger ones. I just found this so interesting and eyeopening.

The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
The Gist: A broken family confront the haunting memories of their time at Hill House after a tragedy occurs. This is the best series I saw last year and is one of the best ghost stories I've seen ever. This is so so good. So well written, very restrained and really is a slow burn taking its time to tell the story. I liked it from the start, but I loved it from the fifth episode onwards. It's beautiful, tragic, haunting and heart wrenching. A must watch.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #237: Movies You Walked Out Of

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Movies You Walked Out Of [Suggested by Brittani]

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Today's theme is a suggestion from Brittani.

I don't walk out of any movies I see in the theaters because if I had invested money and time to go to the theater, I would watch it till the end. But if I saw it on TV or a rental and it sucked, I would drop it. So here are my DNFs.

Ace Ventura (1994/1995)

Don't know which one I saw. I don't think I finished it. Anyway I'm not a fan of slapstick/physical comedy and this was the worst of them.

Youth Without Youth (2007)
I saw this a decade ago, I don't even know what it is about now other than it was directed Francis Ford Coppola which was the only reason I watched it. I remember it being very slow, very European art house-esque and very odd. Basically just plain boring.

Game Over, Man! (2018)
I thought it was going to be funny, but I only managed about half an hour or so of it. Just too much geeky bro crude humor. Not for me.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #236: 2018 Releases

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is 2018 Releases

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This is a hard theme for me because I haven't seen a lot of 2018 films so I'm sticking with those I've seen on streaming services that were disappointing and/or could have been better.

Hold the Dark

I've picked this one last week. As I've mentioned, the plot sounded so interesting but it ended up being a disappointment. I think it's because the story explains nothing. All we get are that these characters are just messed up and had been holding off the dark until it all exploded. If they at least touched on the why now...perhaps the story could have been better.

Les affamés
The gist: The movie follows survivors of a zombie apocalypse in a small village in upstate Quebec. I think I'm experiencing zombie fatigue. I blame it on The Walking Dead which drags out storylines pointlessly (I've given up on it since last season). Anyway this one is really quiet and slow burning, which I often like in movies, but here I found it quite dull.

Mute
The gist: A mute bartender goes up against gangsters to find his missing partner. This is said to be set in the same world as Moon, in fact you can see a news clip of a court trial featuring the main characters in Moon in the background in one of scene. I love Moon and Mute had a good cast so I had expected this to be great, unfortunately it was a little disappointing. The thing is Moon is science fiction film set in the future exploring scientific progress and the human cost. Mute, while it is an ok crime drama, just happens to be set in the same futuristic world but has little do with science. It might has well has been set in the present day.

Wonderstruck
The gist: Two children, a girl and a boy, separated by fifty years, runs away to New York City. This is a movie based on a book by the same author that wrote Hugo. There are similar elements in this one as well like silent movies and orphan children.Wonderstruck follows two different children and I would say the story of the second child, the boy, is much more satisfying and has wonderful diorama scenes at end. The first story is told in black and white and without spoken words other than the score, because the girl is deaf (but the boy is also deaf and his story has sound). My guess is this was done to remain loyal to how the girl's story was told in the book? Anyway I don't think it was quite a smart thing to do considering this is a movie based on a kids book targeted at kids. I mean how well would a kid take a movie that is half silent and without color? My guess not well especially when the girl's story is also overall just a lot duller than the boy's, without any friendship and adventure element. So yeah, I would say an uneven movie.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #235: The Cold

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is The Cold [Suggested by Birgit]

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As it is January and it's suppose to be winter in the northern hemisphere, today's theme, a suggestion by Birgit, is the Cold. I'm doing a theme within a theme: crime movies set against the cold.

Deadfall (2012)
I watch this some time back so I can't remember it as well, but I thought it was an ok movie. The gist: after a heist gone wrong, two siblings decide to split up before their paths converge crashing another family's Thanksgiving celebration.

Hold the Dark (2018)

The gist. A wolf expert arrives in Alaska to help a desperate woman who's son was recently killed by a pack of wolves, while her husband upon returning home from military tour and learning that his son has died embarks on a path of violence. The plot of this one does sound interesting but ultimately I just found the movie too weird and manic. Another thing is that little fact with the husband and wife, which I only learned about trying find book movie comparisons because the movie doesn't really shine a light to the reason for the carnage, something I could not possible have guessed because I knew the actors had at least a ten year age gap.

Wind River (2017)
The gist: a wildlife officer finds the frozen body of the young Native American woman on reservation land and assists the police with the investigation. I like this one. It was very moody, tense and chilling. It's quite slow burning as well until there's this confrontation that escalated so terribly which I did not see coming until we get the flashbacks of the original crime and we get to see the whys.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Friday, January 4, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #234: Place in Title

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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Place in Title

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Today is the first TMP of the year, which means if you're here today you've already checked out the updated final 2019 schedule and I hope you keep joining in the fun for the rest of the year. Now on to today's theme place in title, here are three that I like.

Twin Falls Idaho (1999)
I don't even know if the movie is actually set in Idaho or just referencing the characters who are twins with Falls as their last name. This is one that I would want to rewatch because I remember loving it. The gist: conjoined twins, one of whom is very sick, go in search of their mother who gave them up when they were children.

Brooklyn (2015)
I've picked this before last year for the Meet the Parents theme and it fits so well here too. I really like this one, it's just a very well crafted film and Saoirse Ronan is excellent in it. The gist: a young Irish immigrant in 1950s Brooklyn gets torn between two countries when tragedy occurs back in Ireland.

The Only Living Boy in New York (2017)

This was a very recent watch and I like it. It has little hints of 500 Days of Summer with the narration but without the quirkiness. The gist: a recent college graduate finds out that his father has a mistress. In his determination to break up the affair he ends up sleeping with the mistress and learning more about his parents past in the process.

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Participating Blogs/Bloggers

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

2019 Thursday Movie Picks Schedule (Final)

Hi everyone! Happy 2019!

I have shuffled around some of the themes and added new ones...here is the updated final schedule which I will also post on the Thursday Movie Picks page for your easy reference.

Before I forget, if there is any theme that you don't quite get what it's supposed to be about, leave a comment here.

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2019 Thursday Movie Picks Schedule

January 3 - Place in Title
January 10 - The Cold [Suggested by Birgit]
January 17 - 2018 Releases
January 24 - Movies You Walked Out Of [Suggested by Brittani]
January 31 - TMP Television Edition: 2018 Freshmen Series
February 7 - Revenge
February 14 -Romantic Comedies
February 21 - Starring Real Life Couples
February 28 - TMP Television Edition: Book to TV Adaptations
March 7 - Cold War
March 14 - Movies You Thought You'd Hate But Ended Up Enjoying [Suggested by Brittani]
March 21 - Private Eye
March 28 - TMP Television Edition: Non-English
April 4 - Unrecognizable Actor Transformation
April 11 - Let's Start at the End
April 18 - Interview
April 25 - TMP Television Edition: Music/Musicals
May 2 - True Crime
May 9 - Movies You Have a Different Opinion After Rewatch [Suggested by thevoid99]
May 16 - Letters
May 23 - Movies Adapted from Movies of a Different Language
May 30 - TMP Television Edition: Secret Agents/Spies
June 6 - Nannies / Babysitters
June 13 - Undercover
June 20 - Period Drama
June 27 - TMP Television Edition: Gangsters
July 4 - Parenthood
July 11 - Muses
July 18 - Blockbuster Flops
July 25 - TMP Television Edition: Crime
August 1 -The Great Outdoors
August 8 - The Mrs Robinsons [Suggested by Getter]
August 15 - Witness
August 22 - Actors in Multiple Roles
August 29 - TMP Television Edition: Revivals and Reboots
September 5 - Hostage
September 12 - Non-English Language Movies
September 19 - Break-Ups
September 26 - TMP Television Edition: Fantasy
October 3 - Halloween Edition: Period Drama Horror
October 10 - Halloween Edition: Teen Horror
October 17 - Halloween Edition: Jump Scares that Got You [Suggested by Brittani]
October 24 - Halloween Edition: Rituals
October 31 - Halloween/Television Edition: Horror
November 7 - Scientists
November 14 - Politics
November 21 - Over a Meal
November 28 - TMP Television Edition: Dystopian/Apocalyptic
December 5 - Adaptations
December 12 - Super Long Titles
December 19 - Child Actors Venturing Out of Typecasting [Suggested by Brittani]
December 26 -TMP Television Edition: Rivalry

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