Thursday, December 10, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #74: Movies Set in a Hotel




Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share three movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple simple: Each week there is a topic for you to create a list of three movies. Your picks can either be favourites/best, worst, hidden gems, or if you're up to it one of each.For further details visit the series main page here.
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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Movie Set in a Hotel

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Hey, it's Thursday again. A little update on the list for next year, I'm done with it. I'll publish it this weekend so look out for it. 

A Room with a View (1985)
Partly set in a hotel, it is about a young Englishwoman in the early 1900's who travels to Florence with her older cousin. There she meets an eccentric young man and his father who were willing to switch rooms so that Lucy and her cousin could get the room with a view. This movie is just filled with awkward people being awkward about their feelings.

Somewhere in Time (1980)
I've picked this movie before; I think it was for a Time Travel theme, because yes, this movie has time travel. Based on the novel by Richard Matheson it follows a man from the 1970's who goes back in time to meet a woman in the late 19th century after falling in love with a photograph of her he saw at the hotel he was staying. Matheson also wrote the screenplay for the movie so I guess this will be the most faithful adaptation of it.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Because it's the holiday season and this is one of the movies from my childhood. Is it me or is this movie really much sadder in tone than the first one what with him being alone in place he's not familiar with and then there was the pigeon lady.

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 So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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Thursday, December 3, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #73: Con Artists




Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share three movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple simple: Each week there is a topic for you to create a list of three movies. Your picks can either be favourites/best, worst, hidden gems, or if you're up to it one of each.For further details visit the series main page here.
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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Con Artists

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Hello. It's the first week of the last month of the year. How the year has passed so quickly! This week's theme is Con Artists and here are my picks:

Focus (2015)
This is an uninspired pick. It's here because it'ss the most recent one I've seen and it gives me a chance to talk a little about it. The trailers for this made it look so flashy, sexy, fun and cool. But it's really just a meh movie. It's not really fun. The con is elaborate but I don't think it's clever enough with enough close calls to make it memorable con movie.

The Hoax (2006)
The movie is based on something that actually happened: A writer sells a fake Howard Hughes autobiography to McGraw-Hill in the 1970's. Basically the writer claims that he has been authorised by Hughes, who by then had become a recluse, to write the book. He goes to huge lengths to fabricate documents and recordings to support his lie and the publisher believed him. The premise itself is incredible isn't it? The movie was pretty good as well; it was entertaining to watch Richard Gere, as the writer, running around trying to make up more stuff to cover up and support the lie while also becoming increasingly obsessed with Howard Hughes himself.

Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Another based on a true story, this time about a teenage con artist. I think Catch Me If You Can has one of the most memorable opening credits. A good start to a good movie. Watching this again recently, it was nice spotting a few actresses in their earlier roles just before their stars rose.

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 So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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Thursday, November 26, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #72: Movies about Royalty




Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share three movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple simple: Each week there is a topic for you to create a list of three movies. Your picks can either be favourites/best, worst, hidden gems, or if you're up to it one of each.For further details visit the series main page here.
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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Movies about Royalty

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Hello! Today's theme is right up my alley because a great many of movies about royalty are period dramas and I love watching them. Now see if you can guess what my theme within a theme is.

Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
I think this is one of my favourite movies set in the particular period. Geneviève Bujold was great as the smart and feisty Anne Boleyn who later became Queen Anne when she married Henry VIII. Her Anne is so much better written and performed than Portman's Anne in The Other Boleyn Girl. Oh and costumes here are gorgeous! One of the prettiest scenes I think was in the earlier part of the movie in the garden as Anne waits for Henry Percy.

Lady Jane (1986)
I knew absolutely nothing of Lady Jane other than having seen that popular painting of her. So I went into the movie blind, no pun intended. The movie begins with a hunt which was surprising but now having seen it is very apt. I guess the other reason that attracted me to this movie is that a very young Helena Bonham Carter stars in it and she looks like a child. She was practically drowning in the huge gowns she had to where. Cary Elwes is in this too as Lady Jane's husband and they're both so young and cute together. One of the reasons I like watching shows from this period is all the fascinating plotting and maneuvering that occurs which this movie had quite a lot as well; it was pretty much the real game of thrones then wasn't it?

Marie Antoinette (2006)
I've picked Marie Antoinette before for TMP #5 and I'm picking it once again because it fits perfectly with my theme within a theme this week, which I hope you've guessed what it is by now. Now I'm not a very big fan of Marie Antoinette, the movie not the person, but I enjoyed watching it. It certainly is a gorgeous looking movie. I absolutely love the movie's colour palette and I think I've warmed up to the whole thing with using rock music for it's soundtrack.

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 So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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Thursday, November 19, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #71: Non-English Language Movies - Asian Language Movies Set in South East Asia (Non-Horror)



Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share three movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple simple: Each week there is a topic for you to create a list of three movies. Your picks can either be favourites/best, worst, hidden gems, or if you're up to it one of each.For further details visit the series main page here.
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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Non-English Language Movies - Asian Language Movies Set in South East Asia (Non-Horror)

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Today is another Non-English Language edition; this time its South East Asia. Once again the caveat is that it must not be horror because we've already had an Asian Horror as a theme for the TMP Halloween edition. If you are not too sure what countries are part of South East Asia, please Google it :). 

I've actually picked this movie before for TMP #8 but since I'm sure few people have seen or heard of it, I'm just going to go ahead and pick it again because I really like it. Truthfully, if I can recall correctly, possibly half of the film is in English, but most people in Singapore are bilingual so not featuring any English would probably be an untrue picture of local life. Anyway...shopping is one of the nation's favourite pastime and Gone Shopping follows a few characters whose lives revolve around actual shopping or hanging around the mall.

I haven't seen this for more than a decade so I'm really recalling from memory here. I hardly ever watch Asian Teen flicks, just not something that gets my attention, but this Indonesian movie was hugely popular way back when it was released so I saw it. I guess the story is typical teen movie stuff: a teen girl has to choose between friendship (her tight knit group of friends) or love (the brooding boy outside her social circle), but I was really impressed. It's all about execution isn't it and  I thought it was comparable to the better teen movies Hollywood makes. I'd love to see this one again someday. 


P. Ramlee is possibly Malaysia's most versatile entertainer. He was an actor, screenwriter, director, singer, musician and composer and usually wore several of those hats in a movie he was in so I would be remiss if I hadn't mentioned him or his movies. He died young, still I think he starred and directed more than two dozen films.  I'm going for one of his dramas today, well it's more of a melodrama and it's just one of those movies that sticks out (something to do with forks). In Ibu Mertuaku P. Ramlee plays a poor musician who marries the daughter of wealthy matriarch without her blessing. When the young couple's financial situation becomes dire, the mother-in-law agrees to help and uses their vulnerability to get what she wants. The songs are often a highlight of P. Ramlee's movies; likewise here he sings and plays the saxophone and I leave you today with a Youtube clip of one of the songs (The Screams of my Soul) from the movie. 
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 So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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Thursday, November 12, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #70: Movies about Music/Making Music/Musicians (Suggested by Wendell)



Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share three movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple simple: Each week there is a topic for you to create a list of three movies. Your picks can either be favourites/best, worst, hidden gems, or if you're up to it one of each.For further details visit the series main page here.
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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is  Movies about Music/Making Music/Musicians (No Biopics or focus on Real Life Musicians) (suggested by Wendell)

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Hello everyone! How has your week been? Well it's another Thursday and today's theme theme is a suggestion from Wendell@DellonMovies. My picks this week are simple, all of them were movies I've seen just in the last few weeks.

Breathe In (2013)
In Breathe In, Sophie's (a foreign exchange student) arrival at her host family home disrupts the family's relationships. The father in the family is a high school music teacher who yearns to play in a big orchestra, but his wife's continued reluctance to move to the city stifles his ambitions. Sophie who turns out to be a talented young pianist uncertain about pursuing a musical career, awakens a desire in the father to follow not only his musical ambitions but possibly also a romantic one. I rather enjoyed this. The tension of the relationships of the characters I thought were great.

Frank (2014)
I really like the first third: Jon struggling to write songs was endearing and when he met Frank and join his band it looked like it could be the beginning of his musical career. I felt like the story became less interesting when they stayed at the cabin. It was one eccentric thing after another. As for Frank, well he is weird as expected,but I'd say less weird than his friends who treats him like some kind of genius. I also had trouble understanding what Frank was saying most of the time, he either sort of mumbles or the mask just muffles too much of his voice. I wanted to really like this movie but I think it's just a little too eccentric for me.

Lucky Them (2013)
In Lucky Them, Toni Collete plays a music journalist assigned to write an article about a rock star who disappeared from the stage a decade ago who also happens to be her boyfriend at the time. Reluctantly she goes on a journey to investigate the mystery for the article and at the same time to get closure on what really happened. I rather enjoyed this one too. It was funny and it was nice seeing Toni Collette playing a young cool rock kind of character instead of the mom-ish characters I tend to see her in.

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 So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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Thursday, November 5, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks #69: Secret Agents and Spies



Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share three movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple simple: Each week there is a topic for you to create a list of three movies. Your picks can either be favourites/best, worst, hidden gems, or if you're up to it one of each.For further details visit the series main page here.
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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is  Secret Agents and Spies

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It's obvious why I have this theme this week; Spectre opens. I don't even like Bond movies even though I might not have watch one from beginning to end, but enough bits and pieces to know it's not something I'd like. Actually I haven't watch that many secret agents / spy movies so my options are limited.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
Beyond us knowing that the street kid is recruited by a secret agency, we didn't really get much secret agenting and spying. It was mostly training for the kids and some assassinating by the adults. Still this was a fun movie, so much better than what I expected and I hear there's going to be a sequel. If you like the first Kick-Ass movie, I think you'd like this one too.

Duplicity (2009)
With organisations being worth more than countries, this is where most spying is probably heading: corporate espionage. The premise of it is interesting to me and I like Gilroy's Michael Clayton so I thought this would be as good. While it isn't as great, it is a fun watch. It's more of a romantic comedy thriller with snappy dialogue.

The East (2013)
A woman working for a private intelligence firm infiltrates a aggressive environmental group to gather information for their client/s who are on the group's hit list. Once again an interesting premise and far different from the kind that is usually associated with spy movies. Commercials organisations are involved in this one too, but of course for very different reasons.

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 So that's it...my three picks. What three movies made your list today?

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If you are participating be sure to add your blog post to the linky widget below (Enter your Blog Post URL, your Blog Name and your email {which will remain hidden}). Please also visit the other participating blogs, spread the word about this meme, and also link back to my blog on your own Thursday Movie Picks post :)
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