Thursday 9 July 2015

Thursday Movie Picks: Road Trip Movies

It's Thursday, and that can mean only one thing, it's time for Thursday Movie Picks! This is an amazing series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves. Each week brings a new theme, and all you need to do is pick 3 movies that fit the bill. They can be the best of, the worst of, or hidden gems.


Man, it’s been too long since I’ve last taken part in Wanderer’s Thursday Movie Picks. I couldn’t miss this week though. It’s Road Trip Movies, and despite never going on a road trip myself (I don’t think 3hrs to Cornwall counts) I love road trip movies. That makes this week a hard one, but only because I can only pick 3 movies! Here goes…

national-lampoons-vacation-road-trip

I’ve got to start with my favourite. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) is weirdly one of my childhood movies, mainly because it’s all my family would watch on a Sunday when we all got together. Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) takes his family on a road trip across America to Wally World, and just about anything that could go wrong, does. They’re doing a remake this year which I’m equal parts dead excited and horribly worried about.

little-miss-sunshine-road-trip

I had to check I hadn’t picked this before, but it seems we just like to talk about Little Miss Sunshine (2006) a lot on this blog. One of my favourite Drama/Comedies, this movie focuses on a truly messed up family as they take a road trip so that their daughter can take part in a beauty pageant. Olive’s (Abigail Breslin) dance routine at the end is a major highlight and Steve Carell gets to play a serious role, which he nailed.

chef-road-trip

Another movie I like to talk about! Chef (2014) is one of my favourite movies of 2014, another Drama/Comedy following a working road trip that Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) takes with his son in their food truck after he loses his job at a restaurant. The plot doesn’t sound like much but it’s one of the most heartwarming movies I’ve ever seen. It has tasty food too, what more could you ask for? Don’t watch on an empty stomach!

Honourable mentions go out this week to Zombieland (which I did choose before), We’re the Millers and Paul, which very nearly made my list.

22 comments:

  1. I like your new design! It's very sleek. Excellent picks. I chose Little Miss Sunshine as well, and Chef is an awesome choice that I didn't think of. Vacation is always a classic

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    1. Oh thank you! I'm still playing with it right now (I've learnt more HTML coding since starting a blog than I ever did in full time education) but it's functional at least right now :)
      - Allie

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  2. YAY! Vacation!!! That movie is hilarious...and I love the Chef inclusion!

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    1. I need to stop talking about Chef soon but I just love it, ha!
      - Allie

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  3. The only one of these I've seen is Little Miss Sunshine, and that was a weird movie, just because of how crazy everyone was (except, ironically of course, the person who was just released a psychiatric ward).

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    1. You know, I've never even looked at it that way, but you're completely right, ha!
      - Allie

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  4. Great picks! I liked but didn't love Vacation, it just wore me down after a while but I LOVE Little Miss Sunshine, great performances and an endearing story. I'd never heard of Chef until recently but it was on someone else's list, I think Dell, during one of the previous weeks which lead me to check it out and I really liked it. That's one of the great things about this series is that I'm always finding new titles to sample.

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    1. I can see where you're coming from with Vacation, I think I was brainwashed with it when I was younger. It was a while ago that I saw Chef but it seems to be completely relevant for series' and blogathons like this right now for me :)
      - Allie

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    1. You know what? I actually forgot she was in it. Sorry dude, she's in like the first 5 minutes and that's it, I think :(
      - Allie

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  6. Love Vacation and Little Miss Sunshine. Must have watched Vacation a dozen times as a kid. Feel the same as you about the remake/reboot. Hopefully, I'll be watching Chef, soon. Great picks!

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    1. I've watched the trailers countless times already, and I just can't make my mind up! I want to get fully behind it and all, but I'm scared!
      - Allie

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  7. Whoa, first I have to compliment you two on the nice new design! :-)
    Anyway, great picks! NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION is a classic, and I actually enjoyed LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. I'm not a big fan of Steve Carell or Abigail Breslin, but I think they did a superb job in this. Haven't seen CHEF yet, may have to add that to my to-watch list.

    Mike's Cinema

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    1. Aw thank you! I'm still playing with it right now but I'm pretty happy! I think it was really refreshing to see Steve Carell in a serious role in Little Miss Sunshine, it sort of reminded me that he is actually a really good actor :)
      - Allie

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  8. I loved Little Miss Sunshine and Chef! I haven't seen National Lampoon Vacation though it looks funny. Great picks!

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    1. Thank you! Definitely give Vacation a try if you ever get the chance :)
      - Allie

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  9. I love the happy vibe of these picks! These are all three great crowdpleasers. National Lampoon's Vacation is one of my best early movie memories. I've seen it dozens of times. So great!

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    1. Thank you :) I'm so happy to find others who have seen National Lampoon's Vacation!
      - Allie

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  10. Hi ladies, great list. You cannot go wrong with NLV.

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    1. Thank you :) It's just a classic!
      - Allie

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  11. I've seen the Griswold's in Europe and oh my gad they create havoc but I've not see the original. Great shout out to Little Miss Sunshine, I wanted to include this in my picks too but I already used it in another list. It's a beautiful film where every character is thought of and created with such brilliance. Haven't seen Chef but I did see the trailer - made me very hungry!

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    1. That's the only one I haven't seen yet you know. I watched the Vegas one a couple of months ago but I would definitely recommend you watch the original :D
      - Allie

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