Thursday Movie Picks #108: Gambling

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 Gambling

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Hah! Another one of those what was I thinking? themes. I think I might have been watching The Gambler, the one with Mark Wahlberg when I came up with this theme. But of course by now I can hardly remember anything from that movie - it was pretty forgettable. I know I have watch a few gambling movies, most of them I can't remember much of the plot by now, so here are three that left me with a more lasting impression.

The Hustler (1961)

This was probably the first movie starring Paul Newman I had seen and it remains my favourite. Newman plays a pool hustler who after a big loss tries to regain his confidence and money to have a go at another big challenge.

21 (2008)

Based on a true story, it's about a group of college students that count cards at Las Vegas casinos. I didn't love love the movie, still it was an entertaining two hours or so of these kids trying to beat the big guys. If you like heist films, this is sort of made like it.

The House of Mirth (2000)

Gillian Anderson plays a young socialite who while financially dependent on income from her aunt accumulates a large gambling debt. Thus it becomes more imperative that she marry rich to clear her debt but her heart belongs to another who isn't. Lest you think it's a romantic comedy from the title and my very brief description, it definitely is not. Love this movie and Gillian Anderson is soo good. This and Bleak House, she should just do a lot of period dramas.

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Thursday Movie Picks #107: World War 1

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 orld War 1

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Sometimes I really wonder why I come up with these topics. As I looked up today's one, I'm drawing a complete blank. I can't recall any movies at the top of mind so once again I have to check that list where I keep track of everything I've seen. My picks today is pathetic because these are the only ones I remember watching.

A Very Long Engagement (2004)

It seems that everything that stars Audrey Tautou  has a little whimsical quirkiness to it, even though this is mostly a depressing film. Tautou plays a woman tirelessly searching for her fiance (who pretty much had lost his mind during his service) who disappeared from the trenches of the Somme.

A Little Princess (1995)

A young girl becomes a servant at her boarding school to pay off the school fees when her father goes missing during the war. I know this is a favorite among many, but I just can't stand the whole princess thing and it has the magical minority person thing going on too, which is just so no. I suppose I can't blame the movie because it's probably the book's fault. Story aside, the movie does look pretty.

My Boy Jack (2007)

This is a TV movie but I'm just going to pick it as I remembered it was pretty good and it also featured one the earlier Carey Mulligan and, non-Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe performance. The movie follows Rudyard Kipling and his family's search for their son who goes missing. The eventual death wrecks the family especially Kipling because he had used his influence to get his son accepted into military service despite being rejected several times for bad eyesight.

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Thursday Movie Picks #106: Summer Camp

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 Summer Camp

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Ahh summer camp. I've been to the shorter few days type of camp and can't say I'm a fan of them. I much prefer the comforts of home and watch TV, hence the blog right. I know there's like the teen comedy and horror summer camp sub genre, but my picks today are the more kid friendly variety because I just haven't seen a lot of the former.

Standing Up (2013)

Two kids, both victims of a prank at summer camp, runs away. A sweet movie about two outcasts becoming friends. If you like Flipped, I think you'll enjoy this as well.

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Two kids in love decide to run away; one from home and the other from Scouts camp. What is it with running away from camp? This movie is just super cute. It pretty much has everything I expect and love from a Wes Anderson movie.

The Parent Trap (1998)

Twins separated when their parents divorced finally meet at summer camp. Haven't seen this probably since I was a tween myself, but I do remember enjoying it a lot. And wasn't Lindsay Lohan just cute and charming then?

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Thursday Movie Picks #105: Female Ensemble

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 Female Ensemble

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So I actually googled the meaning of ensemble today because it just seems that when a movie is referred to having an ensemble cast, they almost always refer to one that has a lot of famous names, instead of something that is you know an ensemble...one with roles of equal importance...something like Gosford Park. So that's what I'll try to do with my picks, an all female cast with no main characters. 

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

One of my favourite movies. Set in a girls' boarding school, it naturally has a cast of mostly females. The movie centers around the disappearance of a group of students and a teacher during a picnic outing and follows what happens to the people that are left behind. 

8 Women (2002)

I really don't remember much about this movie other than the first time I saw this, it reminded me a lot of Gosford Park but with an all female cast and had a very colourful period setting. Would love to check it out again.

August: Osage County (2013) 

The women of the Weston family are forced to face each other and buried secrets are revealed when they converge for funeral. This movie surprised me. I didn't know it was based on a play so I had initially I thought it was one of those movies that didn't have much of story and were often just an excuse to parade a star-studded cast. Suffice to say I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

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Thursday Movie Picks #104: Single Location Movies

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 Single Location Movies (Suggested by Hitchcock)

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This week's theme was suggested by John Hitchcock @ HitchcocksWorld. I love checking out single location movies. They have an incredible task of packing in enough drama to keep the audience interested in with whatever is happening in just one place. This week I'm picking some lesser known flicks. 

Rope (1948)

Rear Window would definitely be the most obvious pick so I went with the other Hitchcock. I didn't think of Rope as a single location film until quite awhile after I had seen it. I think it's because there were quite a number of characters, some of which only arrive later. The gist of the story is two young men kill one their friends just because they can do it. After the deed is done and the body is hidden in their apartment they invite the victim's friends and family for a dinner party because they think they're smart enough to get away with it.

The Divide (2011)
A group of people survive a nuclear blast when they take shelter in the basement of their apartment. As personalities clash, resources and hope dwindle, bad things start to happen. I would say this is probably like an adult Lord of Flies if it took place in a bomb shelter at the end of the world. So if you don't like the thought of that, probably best to not watch this one. 

It's a Disaster (2012)
In short it's about four couples, all friends, that meet for a weekend brunch. As some of them confront the end of their romantic relationships some mysterious disaster occurs in their city and it seems the world is now ending. I actually have not heard of this movie prior to watching it. Overall it's a pretty good dark comedy, I enjoyed it. If you like end of the world comedies like Seeking a Friend for the End of the World or Zombieland than this would be up your alley.

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Thursday Movie Picks #103: High School Reunion

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 High School Reunion

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Reunion movies are fun don't you thing? Just a lot of awkwardness and people reluctantly reconnecting with people they never liked in the first place. Here are some of my favourites:

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Really enjoyed this dark comedy. John Cusack plays an assassin who has a sort of career crisis and reluctantly takes a job in his home town at the same time when his high school reunion is to take place. 

Beautiful Girls (1996)
A guy returns to his home town as a way to figure out his life, while also to attend his high school reunion and reconnect with his best friends. A young Natalie Portman stars in this as well as once again another precocious child.

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997) 
I feel like there is at least one more film that I love, but can't seem to remember it; so here's and old one which I haven't seen in nearly 20 years that I remember enjoying and this list makes me want to do a rewatch.

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Thursday Movie Picks #102: School Competition

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 School Competition (Not sports - could be singing, music, science)

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Typically when movies feature some sort of school competition, they tend to be of the sports variety, so I thought it'll be interesting to have a non sports theme since there really are a lot of other competitive activities schools and their students participate in.

Cheaters (2000)

A couple of students cheat on an academic competition. I used to think this movie was so cool as a kid with its whole underdog story and it also sort of feels like a heist film. The Perfect Score and 21 really reminds me of this movie a lot.

Whiplash (2014)
A young drummer is taught by an incredibly demanding instructor. J.K. Simmons was great as the villainous instructor but I'm underwhelmed by the movie as a whole. While I don't think it's far fetched; I don't know about the slapping and throwing furniture, but throwing books and board erasers happen in classrooms and aren't sports coaches also this aggressive verbally? So why would it be surprising that music instructors be so too? Still at times it does feel like it's just going for the shock factor with the Andrew character practicing until his fingers bleed and the instructor character with his ruthless actions.
  
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
A magic tournament. Not having read the books, this movie was notable for showing that magic was practiced internationally and I think it was also the first one to show the death of a Hogwarts student.

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