Double Feature: Flowers in the Attic (1987) & The Foreigner (2017)

Next double feature is here! We’ve arrived at the F features. The first is 1987 adaptation of V.C.. Andrews novel with the same name, Flowers in the Attic followed by 2017’s The Foreigner with Jackie Chan in this action thriller. Let’s check it out!

Flowers in the Attic (1987)

Director (and screenplay): Jeffrey Bloom

Cast: Louise Fletcher, Victoria Tennant, Kristy Swanson, Jeb Stuart Adams, Ben Ryan Ganger, Lindsay Parker

Children are hidden away in the attic by their conspiring mother and grandmother. – IMDB

I still remember back in the days when I first discovered V.C. Andrews through some school friends reading it and it was such a rebellious thing to do because of its edgy content. Of course, I read some other series and not Flowers in the Attic which I learned when I got older that it was a very popular title in her writing. Until today, I haven’t read it so I also went into this knowing nothing about its plot. Call this a fresh watch if you may but this story is definitely a bit edgy as it deals with incest and religious beliefs and control. The story itself has a good premise to work with especially in the realm of a gothic thriller.

The execution of the film does leave a lot to be desire. There are some obvious direction to give it the scary grandmother and the mystery behind the family secrets and why the mother was kicked out in the first place as well as the general dislike and unaccepted feelings towards the children. There’s a lot done to give those unsettling moments. All this somewhat falls apart with a lot of overacting and the camera wanting to focus a lot unnecessary bits almost trying to hint that something would happen between two characters that would be unacceptable in the eyes of the grandmother. The mother at the same time is one of those characters that come and go and is meant to be incredibly odd and not meant to be likeable.

Flowers in the Attic was rather disappointing. I am curious whether the source material is as lackluster in general because the potential of the premise is there but then it feels so unsatisfying as a reveal. Its a tad bit predictable and there are some decent scenes. Even some moments that work between the siblings but when you put them all together, it just never seems to be well-paced and everything feels very deliberate. Not really my cup of tea but then its given me the desire to eventually get back to some V.C. Andrews reading and see how it holds up now.

The Foreigner (2017)

Director: Martin Campbell

Cast: Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan, Orla Brady, Dermot Crowley, Ray Fearon, Rory Fleck Byrne, Michael McElhatton, Charlie Murphy, Liu Tao, Lia Williams

A humble businessman with a buried past seeks justice when his daughter is killed in an act of terrorism. A cat-and-mouse conflict ensues with a government official, whose past may hold clues to the killers’ identities. – IMDB

The Foreigner is a fairly typical sort of action thriller. The story itself wraps around terrorism and politics and human clashes between a father who wants to seek justice and a government official who has some questionable background connections.

The story takes the time to give these characters a little growth as every step of the mystery opens up a little more of their backgrounds, especially the obvious one, how a businessman is so knowledgeable in creating these scare tactics and evading the pursuit of government official’s men. If we talk about characters, the movie is essentially carried because of Jackie Chan who plays the father called Quan and the government official played by Pierce Brosnan. I mean, two veteran actors who deliver good roles all around. Their clashes and the action from Jackie Chan is reflective of the story itself and doesn’t overdo it a lot.

While there is a whole other issue at hand with supporting plotlines with marriage and family, The Foreigner does remember where its main focus is as an action thriller and sticks to it. It adds a few twists and some secrets from the supporting cast. Its not exactly unpredictable and not a lot of surprises but its a decent movie experience.

That’s it for this double F feature!
Have you seen these two films? Thoughts?
Also, have you read Flowers in the Attic? Is it worth a read?

Ultimate 90’s Blogathon Kickoff: Robin Williams Triple Feature

Welcome to Ultimate 90’s Blogathon! 

We’re officially kicking off the blogathon.  It will run for the next few weeks from Monday to Saturday both here and on my awesome co-host, Drew from Drew’s Movie Reviews. Today, we kick off together with our own reviews. We will be alternating reviews here and over there from all of our fantastic participants. A huge thanks is in order for all the reviews we’ve seen. There are some great selections to look forward to. Over the next few days, I will be creating a page on the menu for Ultimate 90s Blogathon and will update the posts as they go so if you miss any, just head over there to find it.

Let’s get this started!

I was born in the mid 80s, meaning I did most of my growing up in the 90’s. Its where I can relate the most and also why this blogathon means so much more to myself. The 90’s was filled with iconic actors and roles/characters and some great movies. My childhood wouldn’t have been the same with this actor though. Life wouldn’t have as many laughs and happiness going on in our house. Robin Williams was a great comedic actor taking on fun and inspiring roles and there are so many that it is hard to choose from. It is why I decided to choose three that meant the most to me, be it memories of spending time with my family or just movies that I can’t get enough of today. These are iconic roles that he took on. I’m sure it will differ for each of you. I know Drew and I both had different choices as well. So will you. If you are a fan, share which of his movies you loved and which would be in your Robin Williams triple feature. Now, for my choices and they are in no particular order!

Aladdin (1992)

Director: Ron Clements & John Musker
Voice cast: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Weller, Gilbert Gottfried

When a street urchin vies for the love of a beautiful princess, he uses a genie’s magic power to make himself off as a prince in order to marry her. – IMDB

Aladdin is a true Disney classics. It left us with not only a princess movie which it does have a male protagonist as a focus, many renowned songs including the wildly catchy Prince Ali or the uber romantic A Whole New World but also a fast talking somewhat silly genie voiced by Robin Williams. Aladdin is fun and fast-paced. It has a villain, Jafar with his goofy sidekick. The Sultan is kind of a clueless father with a pretty pure heart that really has the best intentions for his daughter, Princess Jasmine. While Jasmine is not one of my favorite princesses but she is strong-willed and I love tigers so her pet tiger Raj stole my heart. However, the showstopper is the dynamic and enthusiastic and incredibly funny Genie. Robin Williams uses his many voices to give this character life and makes him interesting to watch with a lot of fun moments.

Aladdin doesn’t only have a love story. Its more than that. It looks at greed and power. It has sneaky creatures and misguided authority. There is ignorance among some characters and only seeing and judging the physical appearance than the true nature. The dialogue itself is sharp and comedic and fun thrown in with hints of emotions as we learn out characters and how they change. The vibrant characters are not limited to their main players but even Raj and Abu, Aladdin’s pet monkey shows companionship and teamwork. Wrapped up in a fun package but still full of excitement and tells an adventurous story, Aladdin is excelled by Robin Williams but also is one of the great Disney offerings in the 90’s.

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

Director: Chris Columbus
Cast: Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Lisa Jakub, Harvey Fierstein, Matthew Lawrence, Mara Wilson

After a bitter divorce, an actor disguises himself as a female housekeeper to spend time with his children held in custody by his former wife. – IMDB

The lengths that a desperate father would go to be with his children brings a lot of great moments, both comedic and heartwarming as he transforms himself into a housekeeper. Mrs. Doubtfire is an iconic role in itself. She was a feisty housekeeper that tried to classy but also stood her own because she was actually a he. Whether is Mrs. Doubtfire dancing around cleaning the house or burning up her breasts or even throwing a fruit at the back of Pierce Brosnan’s head, it all adds to how fantastic this character is. At times, we even forget about the man under the transformation.

Stepping out of Robin Williams iconic role, a cornerstone of 90’s child actors was Mara Wilson who plays the youngest child. Mara Wilson did a few roles in the 90’s, like Mathilda and Miracle on 34th Street. She is one of those unforgettable child actors that was so cute and smart. Of course, we also had our James Bond of the 90’s, Pierce Brosnan as their mother’s new love. And mom is played by Sally Field. Lots of big well known names here. The kids are incredibly fun to watch and everyone delivers a great performance paired up with some amusing and entertaining dialogue that really touches us and tugs some heartstrings at the end. Its really hard to not love. Mrs. Doubtfire is a film that I watch over and over again and still remains as entertaining every single time.

Jumanji (1995)

Director: Joe Johnston
Cast: Robin Williams, Jonathan Hyde, Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce, Bonnie Hunt, Bebe Neuwirth, David Alan Grier, Patricia Clarkson

When two kids find and play a magical board game, they release a man trapped for decades in it and a host of dangers that can only be stopped by finishing the game. – IMDB

Jumanji is irreplaceable. It is adventurous and dangerous. There are scary things that can be summoned from the board game. Jumanji itself is a pretty eerie concept of having a board game that is alive on its own and has created a whole world of its own to thrive for its players. However, Jumanji is a Robin Williams favorite because he plays Alan Parish who comes back after twenty odd years of being trapped in Jumanji’s jungles and need to pick up the courage to get back into the game to finish it and hopefully reverse all the damage already done. Movies that feature someone in the past going to the present or the present going to the past will embrace changes from the sudden decade shift and usually, hilarity ensues. That is the winning formula of this movie.

Jumanji does also boast some great performances from Bonnie Hunt who plays as the girl who ran off in fear when Allan was sucked into Jumanji and has to finish the game also. Her fear and denial are the things that make her funny but we do see her character development as she finds the courage to be more. Kirsten Dunst plays the little girl, Judy who just moved into the old Parrish house with her aunt and starts the game without knowing that she is only continuing a previous game. Her brother, Peter, played by Bradley Pierce is a rather quiet character. Everyone in this movie learns to face their fears and find a deeper courage to keep going on and persevere towards your goal. There is a family theme as well. This action adventure keeps us on our toes as we watch each of them roll the dice and wonder what else can come out of this game. Even if I’ve seen it before, I still sit at the edge of my seat anxiously waiting for what happens as if I didn’t know before.

What 90’s Robin Williams movie do you like?

Remember to head over to Drew’s Movie Review to look at this Ultimate 90’s Blogathon Kickoff review HERE!

New Year’s Eve: A Long Way Down (2014)

I think I might have skipped this last year. I just might have…but I’m a little lazy to search for it now.  The holidays kind of murdered me a little but I’ve been thinking about watching a movie set around New Year’s Eve. I did watch one earlier this year called Jump that might have inspired this thought. You can check out that review HERE.   Its funny (well, not really) that New Year’s Eve inspires so many of these sorts of dramedy centred around suicide. While a lot of us are thinking about the new year bringing on new beginnings, some people just think its time to end it all before we let our failures continue on. I say this because Jump focuses on that sort of messed up night which starts in the same way and dramatically ends differently than this one does.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and check out the synopsis!

A Long Way Down (2014)

Director: Pascal Chaumeil

Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, Aaron Paul, Rosamund Pike, Sam Neill

Four people meet on New Year’s Eve and form a surrogate family to help one another weather the difficulties of their lives.-IMDB

Dramedies are hard to master.  There has to be a balance.  Plus it has to embody the comedy and the dramatic style that works for the individual audience that its aiming for. I’m guessing its because of that IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes has such a huge difference in their scores. A Long Way Down may be a little cliche and could have worked harder to make you connect to the characters but the effort and message and heart that this story has is really great.  It doesn’t force you to feel anything.  You have to observe the characters and listen carefully to their dialogues and their reactions.  Maybe I think too much and read more between the lines than I’m supposed to but I watched this once and enjoyed it, then watched it a second time and got a little more out of it and turned it on a third time and realized that the message this one has is actually really good. Sometimes, wanting to watch a movie over and over again is not a bad thing and in this case, its because I wanted to get something more out of it, wondering if I missed something (because I do tend to multitask when I watch movies).

There’s a few things I truly love about A Long Way Down, which has me wanting to grab a copy of the book because I’m sure it outlines each of these characters even more thoroughly.  First, in setting up this movie, it gives time to showcase our four main characters here and their backstories to let us understand them a little more.  Whether you catch the reasoning of why they were on top of that tower is totally your experience but they do answer it in the end.  While showing them apart, it also takes time to build on their dynamic together and how their oddball relationship grows as they fulfill their pact of postponing their suicide attempt till Valentine’s Day. Second thing, I really like is the relationship between the characters Jess and JJ, played by Imogen Poots and Aaron Paul respectively.  They are almost completely different characters but they have a much deeper sorrow that weighs them down and they both live with it in a different way.  While it doesn’t make sense that they become incredibly affectionate and close with each other very quickly, I didn’t really mind because their chemistry worked for me.

The entire movie is pretty predictable but while Imogen Poots’ Jess is all sorts of unpredictable and crazy and desires attention. She really just has to feel desired and important but in the background, Aaron Paul’s character is the one we focus on.  He doesn’t talk much and many things happen but we soon realize that he is the one that is broken.  Something doesn’t add up for him.  We found him in the most casual on the roof at the start and he doesn’t really stick out during the movie but this leads to some of the best dialogues that he says throughout the whole movie. It gives the movie meaning and a look at what depression is, when there’s something that doesn’t quite work inside and there’s nothing that seems to help. While the other three all have reasons to be up on that roof at the beginning, we never really learn the reason of why he wants to be there until the very end. Maybe this is really spoiler-filled, but there are a lot of powerful scenes, a few bittersweet moments and a movie that holds some truth to what its trying to say, maybe because I’ve been implicated into a situation similar to this one that I can relate a little to it.

I’ve been going on and on about Imogen Poots and Aaron Paul but fact is Pierce Brosnan and Toni Collette are the older views with a much more mature situation that has lead them to where they are.  I have to admit that I’m still trying to coming to terms with Pierce Brosnan in drama/comedy and not the action James Bond that I see him in. It get a little cheesy feelings sometimes but that isn’t saying that he doesn’t have a good character and he does a decent at delivering the person who kind of grows a lot in his views.  Toni Collette is the one that seems most unlikely to get back on the roof.  The older characters have concrete solutions to their problems and they just kind of need to open up and see things in a different light.  They have good back stories but they are the supporting to the young two who seem to be a little more lost.

A Long Way Down is about finding hope in a seemingly hopeless situation.  It sends a message of the underlying depression that sometimes is the culprit to undefinable feelings. Its finding people that unexpectedly help you experience things that allow you to see things differently.  Its a journey of friendship, finding a second family who helped them find themselves or just see themselves a little more clear.  Its not a perfect dramedy that works hard at making how to feel obvious but its all about how much you can connect to these characters to fully enjoy A Long Way Down and since I was able to do that, I found this one rather meaningful and it pulled up some feelings that I have been tucking away for a while.  While it seems like it kicked up some bad feelings, this one does have a positive touch to it and its the ending of it that really brings meaning to what “a long way down” refers to.

Have you seen A Long Way Down? 

Have a great New Year’s Eve!!!
I’ll be back tomorrow with the New Year’s Special Weekly Adventures! 🙂

TMI Podcast: The Random Chat Show All About the Best James Bond Villains

Bond 24, SPECTRE, hits theatres this week.  I went to go see it yesterday on opening night. My review will go up for it some time next week.  However, before we go there, this week’s podcast was all about our favorite James Bond villains.  We even dabble a little in the gadgets and girls world because you know, its all part of a James Bond movie.

Hope you enjoy!

A special mention to Opinion Battles hosted by Movie Reviews 101.

Mamma Mia! (2008)

There is a magic with musicals that I love.  A lot of times, they are cheesy and stupid, even done in a very incomplete way where it either turns into a concert or the story doesn’t flow well or whatnot.  From the first time I’ve seen Mamma Mia!, I just love it.  Does it mean that its a great movie objectively? I’m not that sure…

Director: Phyllida Lloyd

Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters, Christina Baranski, Dominic Cooper

On a beautiful Greek island, we enter into the story of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) who sends 3 invitations out to 3 unknown men who could possibly be her father to come to her wedding with Sky (Dominic Cooper) as an invite from her mother Donna (Meryl Streep).  Her mother has never mentioned about her father but she firmly believes that knowing her father will help her find herself.  She also thought that she’s be able to determine them at first glance.  When all three possible fathers, Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgard), Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan) and Harry Bright (Colin Firth) show up, she realizes its harder than she thought to know and while hiding them as a “surprise” for her mother, she seeks the help of her best friends.  In the meantime, Donna finds out and tries to get them off the island with the help of her two best friends, Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christina Baranski).  All the plot is set to the tune of ABBA hits!

Let me just get one thing straight.  If you are sitting down to ANY musical, you should be in this because you enjoy this sort of thing, especially the cheesy, silly renditions.  Mamma Mia is an adaptation of the stage musical.  Its meant to be fun and mildly enjoyable and entertaining.  You really have to be ready to embrace that in order to enjoy it.  The over exaggerated expressions, the constant emerging into music and this case very good original music and to just close your mind off and enjoy the familiar actors and actresses prancing and dancing on the screen.

I buy these things fully and thoroughly and thats why I like most musicals.  Mamma Mia is one that I go to when I’m feeling sick or down.  Why? Because how can you not tap your feet to any of the ABBA tunes.  Even if its not ABBA doing them and this cast isn’t exactly the best in singing.  Most of the songs is energetic and entertaining to watch.  If you hate everything else, how can you resist moving to Dancing Queen? I know I can’t!

What I am starting to realize is that in any movie that Meryl Streep is in, even if it doesn’t do great overall, you can expect it to be enjoyable miles more than it is just because of Meryl Streep.  This one is no exception.  However, there is one highlight of this one.  Thats Pierce Brosnan not being James Bond ;).  He’s singing desperate love songs, getting nostalgic and shimmying away with silly dance moves.  Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond did not ever do that in my recollection.  Plus, his singing isn’t all that great but there was something charming as always about watching Brosnan get in the groove.  Along with Stellan Skarsgard and Colin Firth, the 3 men had some pretty funny moments.  Everyone was in threes and so was Donna and the Dynamos.  On that note,  Tanya and Rosie was hilarious characters.

Mamma Mia! is one of my absolutely favorite musicals to watch.  It makes me feel good and in the whole dancing and singing mood.  Happy times! Its not a masterpiece of course and the singing isn’t absolutely great but the cast do a great job doing what they do best to give us a nice mix of heartwarming, soul seeking, funny and silly moments throughout to make this an entertaining flick!

Do you like musicals? What is your favorite(s)?