Thursday Movie Picks: Revenge

February 7, 2019February 7, 2019 Often Off Topic18 Comments

I had to bow out of last week’s Thursday Movie Picks topic (hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves) simply because I only watched 1 new TV show last year! Hopefully, that will change this year as I get into some more of Netflix’s offerings.

However – this week’s topic is ever so slightly awkward in the sense that I’ve had it pre-written for a couple of weeks now and it features the currently infamous Liam Neeson. If you’ll allow me to be ever so slightly crude for a moment, it comes to something when you see one of your favourite actors trending on Twitter and think great, are you dead, a pedophile or a racist?!

Aaaaaanyway, let’s move that to one side so that I can tell you about my 3 favourite revenge movies.

Taken (2008)

As if Taken is over 10 years old now! I was late to the party with this one – my husband (back when he was my boyfriend) really wanted to see Taken 2 at the cinema so I was forced to see the original just so I knew what was going on. It’s one of those movies where even if you haven’t seen it, you know the famous line “I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.” Also – I just this second learned that they made a TV Show of the series, has anyone seen it? Is it any good?

John Wick (2014)

As you can see, I’m not going with obscure picks this week. Weirdly, John Wick is another series I was late to, again being forced by my husband (he was my fiance at this point) to give it a watch. If you should learn anything from action movies let it be this – don’t kill another man’s dog. You won’t live to tell the tale!

Oldboy (2003)

Finally, it seemed criminal to not mention Oldboy this week even though it’s all I’ve been talking about for a couple of weeks now! Oldboy is the ultimate tale of revenge on both sides of the coin. The main who imprisoned Oh Dae-su is after revenge for…well, I can’t tell you for spoiler reasons. Oh Dae-su is after revenge after being locked up and fed fried dumplings for 15 years. It’s dark, gritty, twisted, and an absolute must watch!

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies You Walked Out Of

January 24, 2019 Often Off Topic33 Comments

So, here’s the thing. I’ve never walked out of a movie at the cinema, and I don’t think I ever would, either. If I’ve made the commitment to leave the house and part with my hard-earned money to see a movie, then I’m sticking it out till the end, and worst case scenario, I’ll blog about how crap it was the next day.

That said, there are a few movies I’ve watched at home where despite my best efforts, I just couldn’t watch anymore and I’ve turned it off before the end. Those are the movies that I’m going to be talking about for this week’s Thursday Movie Picks, hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves.

This is going to be a great week I think, so extra thanks to Brittani at Rambling Film for coming up with the idea! Here are my picks…

Sideways (2004)

Sideways is a widely loved movie, I know. I was informed of such when it was lent to me, with a promise that I would enjoy it because it had a ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ vibe about it. I HATED this from the very start. Never have I ever seen two more unlikeable characters. For a while it was fun to watch it and complain at the same time, but it’s just over 2 hours long and it was time I would never get back, so I turned it off about half an hour before the end. I couldn’t even look at a bottle of wine for at least a month afterward.

The Interview (2014)

Fun fact – I can’t stand James Franco. There’s just something about him that winds me up and I can’t put my finger on it. That said, there are movies of his that I’ve really enjoyed, but just as many that I’ve hated. This Is the End is one of my favourite comedies of all time so you know, I’ll always give the guy a chance. The Interview, however, was dull, unfunny, and I don’t think I actually stuck it out for that long at all.

Superhero Movie (2008)

Remember the early-mid noughties when we had an onslaught of spoof movies for every genre out there? There were a few that my teenage self actually kind of loved. You’ll have to forgive me, this was pre-blogging when I had an appreciation for actual good movies. Whether Superhero Movie was just exceptionally bad, or whether it was just one spoof too many, I couldn’t make it to the end and gave up.

Movie Reviews

Review: The Guest (2014)

May 23, 2017 Often Off Topic20 Comments

It’s happening again, you guys. I can feel a new obsession coming on, and this time it’s in the form of Dan Stevens. I spotted The Guest on a monthly recap list another blogger wrote recently (I can’t remember who – sorry!) and it sounded like my cup of tea. The fact that Dan Stevens played the lead was intriguing, I’d so far seen him as a big furry beast and a messed up X-Men Mutant, so I was interested to see him in another role. I’ve got to say though, how does he managed to look so much like Bradley Cooper in this poster? It’s weird!

Anyway, the plot is simple enough. Dan Stevens plays David, a soldier who introduces himself to the Peterson family, claiming to be a friend of their Son who died in action. However, this isn’t a airy fairy drama where David reconnects a broken family or anything like that. Instead, a whole pile a seemingly accidental deaths take place, and things start to turn a bit weird.

I don’t even know how to describe the tone of this movie, it might be different for everyone. For me it was a cross between Drive and Crazy, Stupid, Love! It had those moody, dark scenes, a stand out soundtrack, but also some outrageously funny mentoring scenes and sex appeal. I’m not kidding about that last part! I had to send my friend Steph (she understands me) a screenshot of Dan Stevens stood seductively, knowing full well what he looked like, wet after a shower and naked except for a towel that was dangerously low. *cough* Is anyone else warm?

If I tried to be a real blogger rather than a fangirl, I’d tell you that the pacing is completely off in parts, and that the final third is somewhat confusing and a bit of a cop out. It also feels quite long considering the reasonable runtime. I read though that around 20 minutes of footage got cut before the release, which explains the confusion at least. Nonetheless, it’s a movie well worth watching as it’s something a little bit different! Plus Dan Stevens. Did I mention how blue his eyes are?

So where do I go next? I really, REALLY don’t want to watch Downton Abbey (it’s not my cup of tea) and so before I start the downward spiral of working my way through his entire filmography, can any of your recommend me some good Dan Stevens movies? I’m off to see Colossal tomorrow night which I think he’s in, although in a minor role.

But anyway, I do recommend The Guest, but only if there’s nothing big at the top of your watchlist. It’s a bit of fun, and it’s something both guys and gals will enjoy.