Girl Week: The Leading Ladies of 2016

For the second year running, king of blogathons Dell at Dell on Movies is dedicating this week to movies with female protagonists. It’s Girl Week! From 21st - 27th November he’s aiming to post every single day, so be sure to bookmark his blog if you aren’t already to check his posts out. Dell has been kind enough to ask us all to contribute to this special week, so I thought I’d put together a list of my favourite leading ladies of movies released this year, so far at least!

It was actually quite shocking looking through my film journal for the year and seeing just how few of those movies have a woman in the leading role. Nonetheless, there are a few, and plenty others I haven’t actually seen yet, so let’s kick this off shall we?

Amy Adams (Nocturnal Animals, Arrival)

I didn’t think I would love an Amy Adams character any more than Mary in The Muppets. That probably sounds sarcastic, but I love that movie so much. So no, I didn’t think she could top that for me, and then November came along and brought not one, but two movies with Amy Adams as the lead, and she plays completely different roles in each. Susan in Nocturnal Animals is cold, and cruel, whereas Louise in Arrival is warm and kind, someone we can look up to. November 2016 shall forever be remembered as Amy Adams month in my eyes.

Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn & Kristen Bell (Bad Moms)

Too many times it’s been said that women can’t be funny. When the trailer for Bad Moms came out though I felt apprehensive. After the deeply disappointing How to be Single, this looked like the typical comedy where the only funny moments are in the trailer. Yet I think Bad Moms surprised a lot of people in the end. It’s funny from start to finish, with several scenes that had me holding my stomach to stop it from aching. Not only does this movie have an all-female leading cast, it has some great supporting actresses too!

Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

We can always count on the ever wonderful Meryl Streep to put on a good performance. Whilst Florence Foster Jenkins won’t make my Top 10 Movies of 2016 list, it’s still absolutely worth a watch just to see Meryl Streep do what she does best. It’s guaranteed to bring a smile to your face, and I still can’t comprehend just how difficult it must be to deliberately sing badly when you actually have an amazing amount of talent in that area.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane)

Until this year I’ve only seen Mary Elizabeth Winstead in smaller roles, and it wasn’t until after watching 10 Cloverfield Lane that I recognised her at all. She really holds her own as the leading character in this thriller. After being rescued/kidnapped and locked in a bunker, Mary plays a fighter trying to discover the truth, rather than a damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. It looks like she’s landed a big role in Season 3 of Fargo next year too, so I’m looking forward to that!

Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon & Leslie Jones (Ghostbusters)

Maybe it’s because I’d never seen the original (I have now) but I felt indifferent about the announcement of a remake of Ghostbusters. There was a lot of noise about an all-female cast and a lot of upset hardcore Ghostbusters fans, and then a rush to score the movie as low as possible days before it was even released. I loved it, for the record, and I watched the extended version with my family over the weekend and still loved it. Point proven, women are funny as hell!

Ellen Page & Allison Janney (Tallulah)

Tallulah is a movie that makes me so grateful for this blogging community, because I don’t think I would have even heard of it otherwise. I’d read glowing reviews and sometimes that’s all I need to go out (or stay in actually, this was on Netflix) and watch a movie straight away. Ellen Page might be the lead in this heartbreaking story about motherhood, but her co-star Allison Janney gives a performance just as strong.

So there you have it, my favourite leading ladies of the year so far. I’m sure if I re-visited this list at the end of year I’ll be adding at least Felicity Jones to it! Don’t forget to check out Dell’s blog to see his Girl Week posts.

Announcement: October is 'Halloweenie' Month!

Welcome to the Salty Spitoon, how tough are ya?

How tough am I? I watched The Woman in Black a few years ago, and I slept a whole 3 hours afterwards. What do you mean I’m not tough enough? You think I belong at Weenie Hut Jrs?

If you have no idea what any of that means, you really need to watch the No Weenies Allowed episode of Spongebob Squarepants, it’s the best. It also sums up mine and Jenna’s feelings about Horror movies. As film fanatics we like to say that we’ll give any movie a chance, but that doesn’t ever seem to extend to Horrors. We’re just too scared. Every October we say this year will be different, and in my own defence I got through a few Horror-Comedies last year, but still, we want to be brave.

That’s why, throughout October, we’ll be manning up and watching a few scary movies that have been niggling our curiosity just a little too much. Knowing us, we won’t be able to form actual coherent reviews of these, so we’ll be labelling those posts with ‘Halloweenie’.

Here’s the fun part - we’d love for you to join us! Whether you belong in Weenie Hut Jrs like we do or if you have a lifelong membership to the Salty Spitoon, there’s got to be a Horror out there that you’re nervous about. If you’d like to join us, either send us your Halloweenie review by email and we'll publish it here (flickchicks2014@googlemail.com) or post it on your own blog and tell us about it! At the end of the month we'll publish a list of all Halloweenie posts.

Against the Crowd Blogathon 2016

We’ve been following Dell on Movies and taken part in a few of his brilliant blogathons for a couple of years now, and I was so happy to see in our Blogger feed that he was hosting his Against the Crowd blogathon again, this year in partnership with KG’s Movie Rants! We somehow missed last year’s edition so there was no way I was going to let that happen again. Especially so soon after watching a ‘must watch classic’ that I actually kind of hated, and have been too scared to review…

As always, a blogathon comes with a set of rules, and here they are in Dell’s own words:

1. Pick one movie that "everyone" loves (the more iconic, the better). That movie must have a score of at least 75% on rottentomatoes.com. Tell us why you hate it.

2. Pick one movie that "everyone" hates (the more notorious, the better). That movie must have a score of less than 35% on rottentomatoes.com. Tell us why you love it.

3. Include the tomato meter scores of both movies.

4. Use one of the banners in this post, or feel free to create your own.

5. Comment on this post, or on KG's Movie Rants with the two movies you intend on writing on.

6. Publish your post on any day from Monday August 22 through Friday August 26, 2016.

Even better, check out Dell’s original post here to find out more and to check out the other banners.

Let’s kick this off!

The Departed (2006)

Everyone loves The Departed, right? It’s ranked #42 on IMDB’s Top 250, and it features some of the biggest names in the movie industry, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg and Jack Nicholson to name just a few. There’s a cop who’s undercover as a gang member, and a gang member undercover as a cop, there’s backstabbing, deceit, lies, etc. I lost track of who was actually working for who very quickly, and boy was it a long movie!

Spoiler alert right now for the very few who haven’t seen this...was it really worth anything in the end anyway? I spent the last 20 minutes or so with my jaw on the floor because it was just such a ‘WTF’ moment. In fact, let me tell you a funny story. On the way home from our honeymoon, my husband and I couldn’t get seats next to each other on one of the flights, so we caught up at JFK once we landed. I asked him what movies he’d watched and he said he watched The Departed. ‘Ugh!’ I cried out in the middle of Departure Gate 18. ‘I hated that movie. Everyone just died in the end anyway!’. That’s the moment my husband told me he’d ‘started’ to watch the movie. He still had half an hour left. Sorry, love. He has since seen the ending, and explained (at length) the importance of it all. I smiled and nodded the whole time to make up for spoiling the ending like a jerk.

Taxi Driver (1976)
This is also listed on IMDB's Top 250 and a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes so it must be good right?  Every person I have spoken to who has seen this film has loved it and I just don't get it. I don't hate it by any stretch, I just didn't particularly enjoy it.  I think there is a chance that I am missing something that everyone else is getting because I don't understand why everyone loves it.

I have gone into depth in a full review on the blog previously so I won't ramble on too much about the ins and outs of this one but I felt like it took a long time to get into the real heart of the story and honestly in the last few scenes I actually started to enjoy it.  It just took too long to get to that point.  Maybe i'll watch it again at some point and give it another chance, who knows!

Chappie (2015)

So I went digging through the Rotten Tomatoes website for this one. There are plenty of terrible movies that I kind of liked, but not enough to defend publicly. Once I started scrolling through the ‘rotten’ movies, I was heartbroken to spot Chappie on the list! 

The plot is a little crazy, sure, and I know a lot of people hated on Ninja and Yolandi (I still don’t know who they are) but Chappie alone made me love his movie. I always have a soft spot for the underdog, and so Chappie was loveable from the very start as the cursed robot forever coming back damaged from every mission. Then he was given artificial intelligence, he gets excited about rubber chickens, and going for rides in the car. I’d like my own Chappie please, with the orange antennae and reject sticker and everything.

It didn’t have the political agenda that District 9 had, but I thought the lessons about how impressionable Chappie was in his ‘infancy’ were well thought out, and I’ll carry on defending this movie for as long as I’m a blogger!

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
I was not on the bandwagon with this one, I wasn't thrilled when they announced Ben Affleck as Batman and so I gave up on being excited.  I put it to the back of my mind, hardly watched any of the trailers and managed to completely miss it in the cinemas.  Therefore, I missed a lot of the negativity surrounding the film, I refuse to read reviews before making my own choices so all the negative reviews just went over my head.  

A few weeks ago, I decided it was time to watch it, so armed with a glass of wine and an endless supply of junk food, I prepared myself to be disappointed....and then I wasn't.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the greatest film in the world but I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.  I like all the actors that were in it and it provided a fix for my latest Jesse Eisenberg obsession (thanks Now you see me 2!!).  I do have a full review to write up for this so I won't go into too much detail but I thought the story was clever pitching Batman against Superman (even if it was only for a short time) and the introduction of Wonder Woman. Considering I am more Marvel than DC, I really was surprised that I enjoyed it but I think my lack of expectations made it that much better.

Christmas in July Blogathon: The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)

The wonderful Drew at Drew's Movie Reviews is running his Christmas in July Blogathon right now. How has it been a whole year since Drew’s last Christmas in July Blogathon?! I honestly remember writing last year’s post as if it were yesterday. Anyway, I’m so glad it’s back, because I need the outlet - Christmas is my favourite time of the year but no one will let me talk about it until December. Last Christmas was an amazing time for me as a movie fan as I delved into the Star Wars movies before watching The Force Awakens, and shocked myself with how much I fell in love with it.

Imagine my surprise then when I discover that in 1978, a Star Wars Holiday Special was broadcast on TV! Okay, so general consensus seemed to be that it was the worst TV movie ever made, but I couldn’t help but feel that watching it was a rite of passage for Star Wars fans. Or maybe I just like to torture myself and watch terrible movies. Who knows! I read the reviews, I read the quotes from the cast saying they wish they could forget it was ever made, and all I could think was, surely it can’t be that bad? I mean, the entire main original cast is here. Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, even James Earl Jones! 

Oh, I was so wrong…

So, the gist of the story is this. It’s Life Day, a holiday celebrated by Wookiees, and Han Solo is desperately trying to get Chewie home to his family in time for the celebrations. That’s right, Chewie has a family! Specifically, a father called Itchy, a wife called Malla and a son called...Lumpy. Who names their kid Lumpy? I sure hope that’s a nickname. Anyway, Malla is getting impatient and puts in a few video-calls to some friends to find out where her beloved Chewie is. One of those calls goes to Luke Skywalker himself, wearing more make-up than I do on a night out, but he knows nothing. A local trader and friend by the name of Saun Dann tries to ease Malla’s worries, and later turns up at the house (that was fast) with gifts for everyone.

At this point I should probably point out that over 50% of this movie’s dialogue is spoken in Wookiee, with no subtitles, so you kind of have to guess what’s going on. I was at least grateful for the lack of translation when Itchy was gifted with some bizarre adult-fantasy video…thing. That was disturbing. I need to try and forget that moment, erase it from my memory somehow.

I mean, on the surface of it, The Star Wars Holiday Special is like any other Christmas movie. The father of the family is late coming home, leaving a disappointed child. The family are being inappropriate and no help to anyone, and the cooking turns out to be a disaster. That part at least was actually funny, watching Malla try and follow a cooking program to cook a stew. Turns out, it’s really difficult to mix, whisk and beat a mixture when you only have 2 arms. Who’da thunk it?

Then come the Imperial Officers, flanked by 2 Stormtroopers, here to search the property. Doesn’t anyone get a day off work on Life Day? Poor Lumpy is told to watch his cartoons and stay out of the way. Somehow, Lumpy’s cartoon happens to explain what exactly is holding Han Solo and Chewie up. It’s all a rouse played out by Boba Fett and Darth Vader! Bah humbug, guys!

Honestly, at this point the rest is a blur. I made myself a drink during the first 10 minutes, knowing I was going to need it to watch anymore, and I got through a lot of drinks very quickly. A lot like Christmas I guess! All I know is that it was happily ever after, and there was a musical interlude by the Cantina band somewhere in the mix.

So, lesson learnt. This really was a monstrosity. But did you know this was Boba Fett’s very first introduction? Gotta give the movie a point for that. And another for Malla’s cooking attempts. That’s all I can face giving out, though.

In true Christmas in July fashion, Drew is forming a star-studded Christmas party, and we’re all allowed to invite our favourite celebrity in the hopes we’ll catch them under the mistletoe. I feel like I should stick with the Star Wars theme, and as much as I’d like to catch Kylo Ren and warm up that icy heart of his, I worry he’ll throw one of those tempers and wreck the party. With that in mind, I certainly wouldn’t mind bumping into the best pilot in the galaxy, Poe Dameron, AKA Oscar Isaac! Swoon…

A Timely Blogathon: Airplane! (1980) & Stand By Me (1986)

Originally posted on Movierob here.

I have such a short attention span, and so when I saw the announcement of ‘A Timely Blogathon’ hosted by Movierob and Film Grimoire I practically squealed with excitement. Never has there been a blogathon more perfect for me! Of course, there’s something ironic about being late for a blogathon about being short on time, so thank you both for still having me!

The theme of the blogathon is movies that have a runtime of 90 minutes or less, and after a quick Google search I came across a movie I’d been meaning to watch for years, and luckily for me, it’s runtime was 88 minutes. Phew, just about! That movie was Airplane! (1980)

My sense of humour has made a lot of people groan, I’m a huge fan of jokes that get labelled as ‘Dad jokes’, and so numerous people have recommended Airplane! to me over the years. The only reason I haven’t seen it yet is it’s age. I struggle with older movies and I wondered whether any of the humour would actually hold up 36 years later.

The plot to Airplane! is simple enough. On a plane flying from Los Angeles to Chicago, the pilots and many of the passengers become alarmingly ill, leaving one passenger, Ted Striker (Robert Hays) with the responsibility of landing the plane safely.

I can safely say that not only do the jokes hold up over time, they come so frequently that a second viewing is almost mandatory; I spent so long laughing till it hurt that I probably missed a load of jokes! There are references to certain names that went straight over my head, but honestly, this is hilarious from start to finish. Just a few of my favourites:

Nervous?

Yes.

First time?

No, I’ve been nervous lots of times.

You’d better tell the Captain we’ve got to land as soon as we can. This woman has to be gotten to a hospital.

A hospital?! What is it?

It’s a big building with patients, but that’s not important right now.

Can you fly this plane, and land it?

Surely you can’t be serious.

I am serious...and don’t call me Shirley.

I’m laughing my socks off just typing these out. I’ve got to say though, there is no way some of these jokes would make it into a movie made these days. There’s the ‘Jive Dudes’ that have subtitles whenever they’re speaking, the little girl who likes her coffee black, just like her men, and the pilot who asks the young boy in the cockpit all kinds of odd questions!

Realistically, this movie isn’t for everyone. It has a very unique sense of humour, and reminds me of Monty Python in that sense, you either love it or hate it. The plot is silly, the events completely unreal. If you’re looking for a serious, dramatic movie about a plane on the brink of crashing, this isn’t for you, but if you’re in the mood for something funny with a guarantee to make you laugh, you honestly need to give this a watch.

Since raving about this movie all week I’m now being told to watch The Naked Gun, does anyone else recommend it?  I can't stand the Naked Gun films but if you loved this you will love them!

I thought I would throw my 10 cents worth in after googling films that are 90 minutes long or less and not one but 2 of my favourite movies popped up.  Maybe subconsciously I prefer a shorter movie like Allie!

I can't believe that Stand by Me is only 89 minutes long, it feels so much longer when you're watching it.  The first time I watched this film when I was younger, I was on the edge of my seat, I was convinced one of the boys was going to be snatched or that something was going to jump out at them.  When I finally realised it wasn't a horror, I had to watch it again to actually enjoy the story for what it was.

The concept of the film and the story are so simple and yet told in a way that makes you laugh, cry and gasp.  For me, it's one of those movies where not much happens but you find yourself smiling to yourself as you watch it.  It stays with you long after you have finished watching and as an adult you find yourself with the urge to ring your childhood best friend and just say hello.

Allie reviewed this last year for a Blogathon and I didn't end up contributing so I'm glad I am getting the chance to show some love for this.  I can't say I have been a huge fan of Stephen King adaptations, Tim Curry's IT put me off for life - I have never been more terrified of an actor in a role.  However, Stand by me is one of my all time favourites and one I can watch over and over again much like Beauty and the Beast which was also in the list at 84 minutes of awesomeness and a great sing-along!

Decades Blogathon: The Fountain (2006)

Originally posted on Three Rows Back and Digital Shortbread as part of the 2016 Decades Blogathon. To see the original announcement post, click here. To see this post in it's original form as part of the Blogathon, click here.

I was a spectator for last year’s Decades Blogathon, so I am absolutely delighted to make the cut to take part this year! As someone with a worryingly long ‘must watch’ list, this was the perfect chance to tick off a movie that I’ve been putting off for a while. The Fountain has been on my list for a while now, I can’t remember exactly what first brought my attention to it, but I was fascinated by the mixed opinions on it. Simply look at the chart on Letterboxd here to see what I mean. There aren’t many ratings charts that look like that.

The Fountain (2006) is an incredibly artistic and complex movie, but in it’s most simplest form, it is the story of a scientist named Tommy (Hugh Jackman), desperately trying to find a cancer cure for his dying wife, Izzi (Rachel Weisz).

It is, of course, much more than that. There are actually 3 separate stories here, all woven intricately within each other. For the first half of the movie, it’s incredibly easy to get confused with the stories, and the timeline itself. There are so many perplexing details that the movie focuses on, that it’s hard to switch off and simply enjoy the story for what it is. Rest assured, all those questions you build up get answered in a drip feed as the time goes by.

In fact, it’s incredibly rewarding to see such tiny details explained such a long time afterwards. It’s really one of those rare movies where nothing is shown or said without a purpose, and I like that. My one piece of advice actually would be to stick with this if you find it getting a bit too much. If it wasn’t for the fact I was watching this for the Decades Blogathon, I can’t confidently say I would have watched the whole thing.

What lies beneath these intricate tales is one of the most heartbreaking yet beautiful love stories I’ve ever seen. It’s a real testament to both Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz for their amazing acting skills and natural chemistry together. Izzi’s battle with cancer is all too familiar any Tommy’s refusal to accept the reality in front of him was so difficult to watch. The name of the movie comes from the book that Izzi has been writing as she documents her journey, and the scene in which she asks Tommy to complete final chapter for her, because he ‘knows how it ends’ is a very memorable one. 

My only real complaint is that the spiritual elements of the movie just get too complicated for me to understand.  Second viewing might aid this, as I literally went in blind, whereas knowing even just the blurb on IMDB would have probably helped me greatly. That said, anyone who is naturally interested in spirituality will have an amazing experience with this. It’s so well done, and considering the fact that it’s 10 years old now, it hasn’t aged at all. If it weren’t for the famous faces in the lead roles, this could easily be mistaken for a current release.

With a runtime of a little over an hour and a half, this movie whizzes by, and the ending comes all too soon. That said, I think if this was any longer some might give up before the end, when all their questions are finally answered. I highly recommend The Fountain, but I accept that it isn’t one for everyday viewing.

Ultimate 80's Blogathon

Originally posted on Tranquil Dreams and Drew's Movie Reviews:

The wonderful Kim at Tranquil Dreams and Drew at Drew’s Movie Reviews have teamed up for this amazing Blothathon all about our favourite movies from the 80’s! Thanks for hosting, guys!

I myself was born in the 80’s, but just about, and as a result, I’ve never felt I’ve belonged to a certain decade.My mind likes to think I was more of a 90’s girl, but in terms of movies, all of my childhood favourites are from the 80’s. That’s my saving grace. That said, I love to talk to death about my childhood favourites, so if Kim and Drew will allow it, I want to pick 2 movies for this post.

Since starting a movie blog, I’ve deliberately gone back through the years and watched ‘classics’ and ‘must watch movies’ recommended by friends, family, and other bloggers. Because of this, I have a slew of new favourite 80’s movies! So what I’d like to do is write about my favourite childhood 80’s movie, and my favourite more recently watched 80’s movie.

Childhood Favourite: National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

Funnily enough, last year on a Bank Holiday my family all got together and re-watched National Lampoon’s Vacation. When we did, we were a little horrified that I was allowed to watch it as such a small child! Behind all the rude jokes though, is a hilarious movie about a family’s vacation that anyone can relate to. 

Long car-rides, fighting siblings, grumpy grandparents, wrong turns, and family members you just love to hate, these are all essential ingredients to a trip away. This is also the time when Chevy Chase was in his prime, he is hilarious in this, as the hard working Dad who will do anything to make sure his family has a good time.

The jokes are also timeless. Over 30 years later, anyone who has ever rented a car will have had a situation similar to the Griswolds. Who knew there was so much difference between a Citroen Xsara and a Citroen Xsara Picasso? A lot, we found out on a family vacation of our own!

Recent Favourite: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Last year, just a few weeks before the release of The Force Awakens, I started the mammoth journey of watching all of the previous Star Wars movies. Not re-watching, literally watching for the first time. I’d managed to avoid Star Wars all my life, but the whole world was excited for Episode VII and I wanted to know what was going on.

I watched them in Episode order (which I’ve been told countless times was wrong) and by the time I got to the originals, my Dad asked if he could join in on my quest, too. His favourite movie of all time Is Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, and well, being told that gave me such high expectations!

Safe to say it lived up to every one of them. There’s no one out there anymore who doesn’t know that Darth Vader is Luke’s father (NoooOOOoooO!), and trust me, if time travel was a thing, going back to watch this moment un-spoilt would be the first thing I would do. Despite that, it’s still the most iconic scene in the movie, perhaps the entire series. It’ll also stand out from all the other movies for me as by the end, it feels like the bad guys actually won. Of course, that just made Return of the Jedi that much more awesome!

The Acting Black Blogathon

If you didn’t know already (I sure didn’t!), in the US, February has been designated Black History Month. Our good friend Dell over at Dell on Movies has in previous years written some blog posts on the matter, but this year he’s invited us all to join him in his latest project, The Acting Black Blogathon.

The rules are simple enough, but as he puts them so eloquently, I’ll not do him a misjustice and simply copy and paste them from his original post here:

1a. Create a new post about a great movie performance by a Black actor or actress. Tell us why you love it. Or…

1b. Create a new post about a Black actor or actress. Discuss that person’s body of cinematic work to demonstrate why they’re great.

2. Within your post, link back to this one.

3. Either use one of the snazzy banners I’ve created or one you’ve made on your own. If your make your own just include the pertinent information (my blog title, the name of the blogathon and the dates).

4. Publish your post from February 15 through February 17, 2016 and submit a link to it in one of the three ways listed above.

To eliminate the risk of duplicate posts, Dell asked us to submit our topics of choice in advance. I was perhaps a little unoriginal in my choice, but I am so in love with John Boyega recently that I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to dedicate an entire blog post to him and his talent.

At just 23 years old, John Boyega doesn’t have a massive filmography right now, although I’m sure that’s bound to change over the next few years. That works out fine for me though, as I really want to talk about his 2 biggest roles so far, Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Moses in Attack the Block. 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the first performance I saw of John Boyega, and although it’s a running tradition with the Star Wars movies, I was surprised to learn that John is a bit of a newcomer! I thought he did an amazing job of playing Finn, the First Order Stormtrooper who threw in the towel and escaped. He brings so much enthusiasm and energy to the role, and I found myself smiling in nearly every scene he was in. He has a natural charm and is so instantly likeable! 

His chemistry with co-star Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron) was one of the highlights, and well, if you’ve ever been on Tumblr you’ve probably seen everyone’s new favourite OTP, #StormPilot. Ahem…

I really can’t wait to see more of Finn in Episode VIII, (The Force Awakens spoiler ahead) but I’m just hoping he’s recovered from Kylo Ren’s brutal attack! Update: If you follow John on Twitter, there's no doubt Finn is ready!

So, when I finally watched Attack the Block, I was expecting a very similar character in Moses, leader of the gang of youths trying to save their neighbourhood from an alien attack. Boy, I couldn’t have been more wrong! Gone is the happy face and upbeat attitude. This isn’t the John Boyega I thought I knew at all.

Moses is tough, much tougher than Finn, and he leads his gang without the need of barking orders or putting anyone in their place. They know it already. His moral compass is broken, mugging a lone woman on her way home, and when he does finally apologise for the act, his apology only comes from the fact he didn’t realise she lived in ‘the block’. In fact, if she lived two streets down he wouldn’t have been sorry at all.

That’s the moment when I realised. This man can act! Watching those two performances almost back to back was quite incredible, actually. I think the real John Boyega, from what I’ve seen of him in interviews anyway, is much closer to Finn. The guy is an absolute sweetheart actually, and he’s the most well-spoken man I’ve ever heard! Just check him out in this interview here:

I also wanted to use this opportunity to throw in my ‘two cents’ on the #OscarsSoWhite issue, although I realise it’s old news now. There is definitely an issue here, and it does need addressing, but I don’t think throwing that hashtag around and blaming the Academy is really the right thing to do. There was a quote I read a few weeks ago, and I can’t for the life of me remember who it was now, but the quote went something like this…

“Roles win Oscars, not actors”

That struck a chord with me. And I think the point I want to make is that better roles need to be written and given to people of colour. It’s no good to just throw in nominations for actors, actresses and directors of colour just for the sake of diversity.

Anyway, with that little rant over, I just want to thank Dell for hosting this amazing blogathon, and I’m really looking forward to reading everyone else’s contributions!

Christmas Cast-a-Thon: Entries Round-Up

To celebrate our favourite time of the year finally here, we ran a Christmas themed Cast-a-Thon! Here are the entries we received. If you fancy taking part, please do! Just check out our announcement post here to find out how.

If you do feel like taking part, just let us know when your post is up, and we'll add it to this list.

John at Hitchcock's World's Christmas movie featured the most bad-add parents of all time, John McClane and Lara Croft!

Dell at Dell on Movies' Christmas movie had one of the greatest grinches ever, none other than The Penguin!

And finally, you can check out my post here and Jenna's post here!