Tag: Thursday Movie Picks

Thursday Movie Picks: Folk or Urban Legend (Halloween Edition)

Kat Impossible11 Comments

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for the Thursday Movie Picks feature. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.

The entirety of October is dedicated to a special Halloween Edition, meaning we’ll take a look at themes through the lens of Spooktober! Today’s topic is all about Folk and Urban Legends. Me being me, I have always had a knack for Folk Legends more than the Urban ones, I suppose. To me folk legends just means fairy tales, because that’s where fairy tales originated from. I do realize that folk tales are usually without an accredited author and passed on orally, but hey, I don’t do spooky well, so that’s the drift you’ll be getting from this post. Hope you enjoy!

Red Riding Hood

This is what you get when you try to make a fairy tale for teens during the heydays of Twilight. It’s full of angst and love triangles, but teen me ate it up. I know it’s a silly movie, but the werewolf premise did intrigue me and I would have been lying if I had said, I didn’t want a sequel to it. I might have also been slightly in love with Max Irons … maybe … possibly.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

I watched this movie in 3D in cinemas and I had a blast. I know it’s silly and all, but sometimes that’s just what you need? Also, this is one of the few roles I like seeing Jeremy Renner in. Gemma Arterton is just always amazing, so there’s no debating here.

Snow White & the Huntsman

I thought this movie was beautifully shot. It’s not actually all that spooky, but oh well, I still picked it. I listened to that soundtrack up and down and even bought the book, cause the movie never even mentioned the Huntsman’s name. Rude.

Pan’s Labyrinth

This is probably the only movie that actually fits the prompt, but what can you do? I told you all that I would be struggling to come up with picks for this month, but I still tried. This is not the first time I’ve used Pan’s Labyrinth for my TMP posts, so I won’t go into detail. I just like it a lot.

What are some of your favorite movies about folk and urban legends? I’m assuming we will see a lot of Candyman suggestions this week, but I’m way too much of a wuzz to watch that.

Thursday Movie Picks: School (Halloween Edition)

Kat Impossible16 Comments

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for the Thursday Movie Picks feature. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.

The entirety of October is dedicated to a special Halloween Edition, meaning we’ll take a look at themes through the lens of Spooktober! Today, though, is all about School! I’m not the best at scary movie stuff, which is intrinsically linked to Halloween for me, but I’ll try my very best! I’m not even sure if slightly scary movies will be enough, or if it should actually be set during Halloween. We shall see what I can come up with …

The Covenant

People say this movie is really bad. I know a couple of actors, who don’t exactly love to talk about it, but I was obsessed with it back in the day. Maybe, I just liked looking at those boys, but it was mildly scary and the most I could do without being terrified. I hope you’ll grant me this pick.

Carrie

I know people didn’t love this version of Carrie, but I didn’t hate it? I loved the marketing for it though, that was AMAZING. If you haven’t seen it, I’ll post the video below as well.

Halloweentown High

Halloweentown movies were my jam as a kid. There’s technically also one set in college, but we don’t talk about that one, because they replaced the main actress? I’ll never truly understand.

Freaky

I haven’t seen this one YET. I really, really want to though, because it seems like such a fun take on the Freaky Friday concept and the cast is super fun as well.

I would have picked Jennifer’s Body, but I just used the movie last week. I have a feeling that this month won’t be easy for me … what did you think of my picks? Let’s chat!

TMP – TV Edition: Non-English Shows

Kat Impossible20 Comments

It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.

As it so happens, we change it up once per month and talk about TV shows instead of movies and this time around we are talking about non-English TV shows and series. In general, this is fairly easy for me, as I do not come from an English speaking country. I’ve always watched either German shows or dubbed content from all over the world. However, I think it’s best that I’ll try and present shows that are available on streaming platforms or elsewhere, because where’s the fun if no one can actually watch them? Let’s get started!

Dark (German)

I stand by the opinion that this show is one of the best German shows to ever be produced. The cinematography, the well thought-out story and the intriguing plot are just something that will forever stay with me. You can’t just watch this in the background, you have to pay attention, but it will have been worth it.

The Rain (Danish)

The final season wasn’t my favorite, but I loved this show so much. The moral implications of a lot of it were just great to see unfold.

Ragnarok (Norwegian)

I have a thing for Norse mythology … sue me.

Plan Coeur (French)

My relationship with French has always been a rocky one, but shows like this bring the joy back for me. I loved watching it and even cried at the pandemic special episode they created. So worth it!

Honorable Mentions

As per usual when it comes to TV shows, I just can’t contain myself. Here are some more shows I think are worth the watch, which aren’t all on Netflix (but still most of them):

  • Almost all the iterations of SKAM, but especially Druck
  • Control Z (Mexican)
  • 3% (Brazilian)
  • Elite (Spanish)
  • Blood & Water (South African)
  • Vampires (French)
  • The Mess You Leave Behind (Spanish)
  • Bad Banks (German)
  • Ku’damm 56 (German)
  • Trakehnerblut (Austrian)
  • Arme Millionäre (German-Austrian)

For everyone who’s missing Casa de Papel here, I’m still only in S1, so it didn’t feel right to mention it.

What are some non-English shows you enjoy? Let’s chat!

Thursday Movie Picks: Femme Fatales

Kat Impossible17 Comments

It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.

As you know, each week has a different theme and this time around we are talking Femme Fatales. I have to admit that I really struggled to come up with movies at first, but I’m very determined to make that theme my own. By definition, a femme fatale is often a mysterious, beautiful and seductive woman, who’s charms ensnare people, leading them into compromising or deadly situations. Let’s get started!

Promising Young Woman

This is still one of my most favorite movies of the year and I won’t pass up an opportunity to mention it. Cassandra dressed herself in various ways to appeal to men, giving them the chance to act decently or horribly instead. What she did to them after they showed their true face is entirely their fault.

Jennifer’s Body

Jennifer, too, used her body to get guys’ attention and then … well, should I spoil the movie? I feel like it’s a classic and you all should know what happens next.

Atomic Blonde

I loved Charlize Theron in this role and falling for her will 100% put you in danger, something she sometimes does on purpose. Also, such a good soundtrack! Suppose I’ve just always liked the 80s and German music.

Practical Magic

This is probably not a movie you’d think about right away with the theme “femme fatale”, but both sisters have quite a fatal touch. I mean … think about it! Still one of my favorite witch/magic movies though. I’ve seen it so many times and still adore it.

Nightmare Alley

This movie isn’t released yet, but because I enjoyed sharing movies in the Outlaws post that I’m looking forward to, I wanted to include this one as well. It does look fantastic.

What are some movies featuring a femme fatale that you enjoyed? Let’s talk!

Thursday Movie Picks: Outlaws

Kat Impossible12 Comments

It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.

Today we are here to talk about Outlaws! My mind immediately goes to the Wild West, but that’s not all there is to outlaws of course. We shall see what I can actually come up with for today. From the top of my head, not too many movies come to mind, so I’m changing things up and will use movies I haven’t watched yet, but am looking forward to!

Concrete Cowboy

A modern view on cowboys and I’m here for it. Are there really any outlaws in the movie? Debatable, for sure. But 15-year-old Cole is definitely in trouble at school and on the verge of doing some stupid stuff, so I’ll let that slide.

The Harder They Fall

I swear this is one of my most anticipated Netflix releases of the year. This cast has me fawning all over them and it just looks really good. I cannot wait to watch it.

High Ground

Former lawmen becoming outlaws in a way, I like the idea of that. Also, this seems extremely layered and complex, so I’m intrigued.

So, this turned into more of a theme within a theme than intended, but what can you do? What would have been some of your picks? Let’s talk!

Thursday Movie Picks: Actors or Actresses Playing Themselves

Kat Impossible18 Comments

It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.

Today’s theme is all about actors and actresses that played themselves. I think there’s room for interpretation with that theme. Is it people who mostly or only ever play characters that are super close to their own personality? Or are we talking about actors and actresses that literally played themselves (be it as a cameo or more) in a movie? Well, I decided for myself that I’m going to go with the latter, however, I didn’t just pick actors but also just celebs in general for this feature.

Keanu Reeves: Always Be My Maybe

I adore Keanu Reeves! He is an odd dude, but he never takes himself too seriously, which is why his role in Always Be My Maybe was simply brilliant. He briefly played the love interest for the main character and I laughed every time he was on screen. I miss him in more light-hearted stuff sometimes.

Julia Roberts: Ocean’s 12

This appearance was super meta and I was here for it! Basically, Julia Roberts’ character pretends to be Julia Roberts, so there’s always that!

LeBron James: Trainwreck

LeBron James having a friendship with Bill Hader’s character was so funny. I loved it and would have watched many more scenes with just the two of them.

Ed Sheeran: Yesterday

Confession time: I’m not the biggest Ed Sheeran fan. I get that many people love his music, but I’m just not that head over heels into it. However, it was fun to see him in Yesterday and become a mentor of the lead character in a way, while he was also baffled someone was a better songwriter than him.

Dustin Hoffman: The Holiday

It was so brief, blink and you might have missed it. But I love The Holiday and I felt compelled to mention it. What can you do?

Dustin Hoffman in The Holiday
credit: Universal Pictures

What are some cameos or full on roles of actors, actresses and celebs of any kind you liked in movies? Let’s talk about that!

TMP – Oscar Winner Edition: Best Original Score and Best Original Song

Kat Impossible5 Comments

It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.

This week is once again part of the Oscar Winner Edition, which will continue to be a reoccurring theme during each month. As was evident from the post title, we are dealing with Best Original Song and Best Original Score this time around – another two for one post! Music is such an important component to filmmaking, as is sound design in general. I’m looking forward to diving into some good music today!

Best Original Score

Soul

(Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross & Jon Batiste)

Soul was a beautiful movie that lived off of music, so it only makes sense to mention it here. Jazz in general might not be for everyone, but I’m sure it can enchant you here. (Also, it’s not like it’s all “just” jazz.)

Black Panther

(Ludwig Göransson)

I’ve mentioned Black Panther a lot for these posts, but 1) I’m happy when superhero movies get recognition from the Academy and 2) the movie was fantastic/iconic/a whole movement. If I hear a certain rhythm of tribal drums, I immediately think of Wakanda and/or the Dora Milaje. The score did THAT!

Finding Neverland

(Jan A. P. Kaczmarek)

I was obsessed with this movie when I was like 11 years old. I’m sure I watched it 20+ times and I cried every single one of them. To me, that movie was pure magic and my Peter Pan loving heart was all in.

Best Original Song

Man or Muppet (The Muppets)

(music and lyrics by Bret McKenzie)

Is this song ridiculous? Absolutely! Did it still get stuck in my head? Yes, it sure did!

Remember Me (Coco)

(music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez)

My favorite song from Coco is actually “Un Poco Loco”, but this one made me tear up in the end. So, it deserves to be on this list.

Falling Slowly (Once)

(music and lyrics by Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová)

I just love the song! All the more for getting covered on a show I love (Good Trouble), but that’s another story.

You’ll Be In My Heart (Tarzan)

(music and lyrics by Phil Collins)

I love the whole soundtrack. Phil Collins doing all the songs in dozens of languages, despite not speaking them, was just the cherry on top. I will admit to having grown up with mostly the German versions of the Tarzan songs, but it is (next to the Anastasia soundtrack) one of the most played CDs of my childhood.

Honorable Mentions

I couldn’t go without a little shout out to some more songs that I loved and that were nominated, however, didn’t win.

  • Mystery of Love by Sufjan Stevens (Call Me by Your Name)
  • Lost Stars from the movie Begin Again (performed by Keira Knightley and Adam Levine in different versions)
  • Coming Home from the movie Country Strong (which has a fantastic soundtrack in general)
  • A LOT of Disney songs …
  • Tron: Legacy was snubbed for Best Score, because it was never even nominated. You can fight me on that, but I’ll stick to that opinion.

Which songs and scores would have made it onto your list? What did you think of my selection? Let’s talk about that!

TMP – TV Edition: Books I Want to See Adapted Into a TV Series

Kat Impossible24 Comments

It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.

As it so happens, we change it up once per month and talk about TV shows instead of movies and today gives me the great opportunity to talk about books I would like to see adapted into a TV series. There’s many, many I would like to see, but not all of them are suitable for the TV format. Many are better for movies, but I still have plenty of ideas. I’m going to try my very best not to go overboard. Emphasis on try. But to make it easier for myself, I’m going to stay in the SciFi and Fantasy realm.

Red Rising Saga by Pierce Brown

Those of you who have followed me for a while, know how much I adore this series. It grabs me every time and makes me feel emotions I usually don’t feel access that much. From what I know, it has been in the talk to be adapted for a movie, before Pierce Brown shut that down, because they would have changed the essence of the story too much. After that, I heard rumors of it being developed for TV, but news have been scarce on that front since.

Either way, I want a show and I hope they won’t make an animated one, because I want a live action one more. I especially hope they will ignore the height difference between the different colors and will cast Richard Harmon as my favorite Sevro. I’ve been championing for this for years!

My Red Rising reviews:

Monsters of Verity by Victoria Schwab

August Flynn is one of my all time favorite characters. I just want to adopt and coddle him, but I also genuinely think that the Monsters of Verity series would lend itself well for TV. There is a lot of freedom of what could be explored beyond the two books and a rich world full of intriguing monsters and heroes. I’d sure love to see it come to life on the screen.

My Monsters of Verity reviews:

Wolf by Wolf duology by Ryan Graudin

I think we’ve seen that alternate reality shows about WWII work quite well, just look at The Man from the High Castle. This is obviously targeted at a younger audience, but would raise great talking points. While the book had several issues with the German language, that’s not anything that wouldn’t be easy to remedy in a show. The characters were great for sure!

My reviews for the duology:

Jackaby Series by William Ritter

Jackaby is like Sherlock meets Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency? Two shows I absolutely adored and would therefore love to watch something in a similar realm. The books are definitely not that well known, but they are so much fun!

Jackaby (Jackaby, #1) by William Ritter Beastly Bones: A Jackaby Novel 02 : Ritter, William: Amazon.de: Bücher Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby Series #3) by William Ritter, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® The Dire King ( Jackaby Series #4) by William Ritter, Hardcover | Barnes & Noble®

My Jackaby (mini-)reviews:

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

While I definitely don’t agree with everything Maggie Stiefvater says on the internet and elsewhere, I think a show could do great things with her books as a guideline (but not sticking to it entirely faithfully if you ask me). Somehow, I just picture them on a small network like syfy with a fresh new cast of faces. I’d really like to see someone appreciate my ghost boy.

My Raven Cycle reviews:

Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe

Alright, so this is me cheating a little bit, because Netflix IS releasing Lore Olympus as an animated series soon. For those who don’t know, it’s a web comic that you can read for free here. It’s a modern retelling of the tale of Hades and Persephone and I have fallen utterly in love with it. However, I’m a sucker for live action adaptations, so I’ve started to cast the characters in my head already.

So, aside from Geraldine Viswanathan as Persephone and Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Hades, I’d like to put forward Sam Claflin as Zeus and Paul Mescal as Poseidon. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

What are some books you would like to see as TV shows? Let’s talk in the comments!

Thursday Movie Picks: Treasure Hunt

Kat Impossible11 Comments

It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.

Today’s theme is Treasure Hunt! I like a good treasure hunt, so I’m really excited about this post. There’s just something about that bit of adventure in the air, the excitement of maybe finding something that has been missing for a long time – I love it! Let’s jump right in!

The Goonies

The Goonies is a classic and was the first movie I thought of when I heard the theme! I loved it as a kid, I still kind of love it now. Despite its flaws, it will forever be entertaining to me.

Finding Ohana

Speaking of the Goonies, this is the Hawaiian new version of it. Kind of. I really enjoyed watching it and still have the song from the cave stuck in my head. Fingers crossed that one day, they’ll release it performed by the actors. The movie as a whole definitely had a lot of heart!

National Treasure

There’s just something so funny about Nicholas Cage stealing the Declaration of Independence and sprinkling some good old lemon juice on it to reveal a secret message.

Treasure Planet

One of my favorite Disney movies growing up! I think there’s many great ones out there, but I feel like quite a few slept on this one.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

I was honestly obsessed with Lara Croft as a kid/teenager. She was the epitome of everything I wanted to be – whip smart, super athletic (never bound to achieve that, I’m afraid) and always on some sort of adventure. When they announced the reboot with Alicia Vikander, I wasn’t against it, but it just didn’t hit the same for me.

What are some of your favorite treasure hunt movies? Let’s talk!

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies That Confused Me

Kat Impossible20 Comments

It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.

Today’s theme was suggested by Brittani and is movies that confused you! Weirdly, I can’t think of a bunch of films right from the top of my mind, but I’m quite certain there had to be several. Some movies are just baffling and we will take a look at some of them now!

Doors

Doors is a horror anthology movie, about doors from outer space. What do they do? Make people crazy or disappear. What else? I don’t really know, because I never understood the purpose of the doors. Maybe possess people? It’s an option.

Arrival

I love this movie with my whole freaking heart! I think it is beautiful and touching and memorable like few alien movies I watched. However, the timey wimey bit was a tad confusing. Maybe time is happening all at once? I don’t know, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Annihilation

Confession time: I still haven’t watched Annihilation … BUT I have read the book. I actually held off from watching the movie, because I wanted to continue with the book series, but then something always got in the way. It was a baffling read for sure though, so I imagine the movie to leave you with quite the questions as well though.

O Beautiful Night

In the end, I just had to rep some German language cinema as well. I remember really enjoying this movie, but I never fully got it. It’s a really strange film about death and how to properly live. Maybe.

What are some movies that confused you? What did you think of my picks? Let’s talk about that!