Saturday Catch Up & Links

As long as I don’t look out the window (it’s unusually sunny) the signs of Autumn are all around. My sunflowers have refused to stop growing, I only got one of them to flower this year but it was a much better attempt than last year. The local shops are full of cardigans, and I’ve bought 2 already. Also, I came down with a big stinky cold this week and I’m still feeling sorry for myself.

Thanks to my sick-day, I finally caught up with New Girl. I was at least 30 episodes behind, which is really unlike me, but at least I’m prepared now for the Season 5 premiere later this month. Is it this month? With a Jess shaped hole in my viewing schedule, I’ve watched more Teen Wolf than usual. I’ve decided I definitely enjoy Teen Wolf now, but it’s more of a guilty pleasure than anything else, and I feel like I’m too old to be watching it really. It has the coolest title sequence though!

My fiance and I have also started watching Netflix’s Daredevil at long last, and we’re probably the last people on the planet to be watching it. It’s like Breaking Bad all over again. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I am actually, and the fighting scenes are nothing short of legendary.

Earlier in the week I stumbled across a post (I think on Buzzfeed) of movie-themed cakes. They were amazing! I have a newfound appreciation of cake since starting to plan my wedding, and although my budget is nowhere near big enough to allow a cake as epic as some of these masterpieces are, they’re still pretty to look at. I might just dedicate a whole blog post to my findings soon!

On the subject of blog posts, here are some of my favourites this week:

Movierob and Darren of Movie Reviews 101 are hosting an October Steven King-a-thon, and are still open for reviews. Check it out, I’ve chosen Stand By Me.


Dell at Dell on Movies has been nominated for another Liebster Award, congratulations dude!


Caz at Let’s Go To The Movies has reviewed Gotham Season 1. I never got around to watching Gotham but I might try and catch up.

Drew’s Movie Reviews now includes Footloose, a classic that Jenna and I only got round to watching for the first time last year.

1984-a-thon: Footloose

What seems like forever ago, Jenna and I received our first non-automated email in our Flick Chicks inbox from Todd at Forgotten Films, inviting us to take part in his 1984-a-thon. We both jumped at the chance and Jenna quickly snagged up Footloose for us, which was a great choice.  

I have been meaning to watch Footloose properly for years and this meant we completed another Blogathon and covered a film on the Top 250 - win win!

I knew the film of course, and the song too, although I don't know many of the lyrics and tend to just sort of make them up. This was a great opportunity to watch a classic film for the first time, and also an excuse for Jenna & I to meet up as we haven't for ages!

For anyone who really doesn't know what Footloose is all about, a teenager raised in the city called Ren (Kevin Bacon) moves to the small town where popular music and dancing have been banned after a tragic incident years ago. Ren struggles to fit in at his new school, and also lands himself in a heap of trouble as he tries to shake up the rules.

As I suspected, Footloose was full of cheese. The group dance scenes in particular, where everyone in the group seems to know the same routine, and they're all in perfect synch. Those moments were great though, and you just can't help put smile and tap your feet along with the songs. My favourite scene is captured above, where Ren teaches his friend how to dance. He's just hopeless but it's a great comedy moment.  This was by far my favourite scene and probably the only point I really smiled in the film.

I think I may have enjoyed this more if I'd seen it back when it was new (difficult though being born in 1985), I just found it a little too cheesy and hard to watch it some places.  A point both me and Allie said at the time and have mentioned here is John Lithgow, I love him in everything I have seen him in, until now!  His long winded scenes put me to sleep, they were so boring, it was lucky this was a Flick Chicks movie night or I may have turned it off at one point.

Kevin Bacon's Ren was exactly what I expected, great!  He has charisma, the moves and was the highlight of the film.  Shame as much can't be said for Ariel, the preachers daughter, played by Lori Singer.  Singer may be a good actress (I haven't seen her in anything else to judge) but the character was horrid, she was a spoilt brat who always gets what she wants and I didn't buy into her as the love interest at all.  I would be surprised if anyone liked her let alone fell in love with her.  Sarah Jessica Parker's Rusty would have made a better lead in my opinion! 

For me, the only real thing that let the film down was John Lithgow's character, Rev. Shaw Moore. His scenes had far too much dialogue and I lost interest in his scenes very quickly. All in all though, Footloose was enjoyable to watch and I'm glad that Jenna chose us for it.

It's definitely the classic that is expected and had I not been annoyed at the preacher and the preachers daughter in every scene they were in, I would have probably scored it higher!

Thanks to Todd at Forgotten Films for inviting us to take part in this huge blogging event, it's been brilliant to see all of the entries that have been flooding in this week and I hope we can take part in something similar again in the near future! Ditto ;-)

Favourite Movie Dance Numbers

On Sunday night I sat and watched Dirty Dancing from beginning to end with my Aunt, it has been a long time since I've done that.  Normally, I fast forward to all the dancing scenes as they are my favourite part - which prompted me to write this post.  I love dance oriented films but I always love actual dance routines (and regularly tried and failed to learn them as a kid!)  

Therefore, I will kick this list off with the one that started it all:

Dirty Dancing
Who doesn't love this dance scene?  What girl didn't want to be Baby and have Johnny come and demand 'nobody puts baby in the corner'? The routine is great but it's the little things around it as well that make it what it is.  Baby's mother announcing 'I think she gets it from me', Robbie dropping himself in it and the old dear throwing off her fur to throw some shapes.  All in all a cracking scene that every girl loves...

Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion
I still have plans to learn this routine with my friend Louise but we have never quite got round to it.  The first time I watched this film, I just didn't expect this at all, I cried with laughter all the way through (and I'm pretty sure I would the tape back and watched it over and over again!)

Step up
I hate to admit it but I loved this film, has to be one of my guilty pleasures!  The whole film is utterly predictable and poorly written but the dancing is awesome.  The music is great and fits so well with the themes in the routine and I can't help but smile when I watch it.

Strictly Ballroom
It has been a hell of a long time since I have seen this film, but who can forget Doug Hastings slow clapping providing the beat for his son and Fran to do their routine - Brilliant!!

Save the last dance
No one watched Save the Last Dance and didn't root for Sara (Julia Stiles) to become a better dancer and show all the 'haters' and that is exactly what she did.  After watching the first scene in the club through parted fingers and feeling every inch of Sara's humiliation, it felt so good for her to succeed!

Big
Not sure where this is considered a dance routine but I'm using it anyway.  I wanted nothing more as a kid than to have a giant piano so I could learn to do this - unfortunately along with the Pony I asked for it was never to be.  So I had to settle for watching this over and over.

You Got Served
Not proud to admit but I do love this film (might have to also add it to the guilty pleasures list), as I said, I love anything with a good dance routine and this goes waaay beyond that.  No more words, just watch:

Grease
Spent a large chunk of my childhood trying to nail the clapping hand jive routine (I've finally got it now!) but the rest of this routine just wouldn't have worked on my own. Two fantastic dancers (John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John) showing everyone how it should be done.

Bring it on
Ok so not technically a dance routine as such but how can it not be mentioned! In fact I love all the routines in this film, they are quite incredible to watch, the skill that is involved is unbelievable.  If you are someone who will never watch this film, just watch this scene and if nothing else you have to admit they are some skilled cheerleaders!

Little Miss Sunshine
This blew me a away when I first saw this film, I just didn't expect it.  Abigail Breslin at her very best! (Excuse the poor quality video!)

Centre Stage
This film is really rubbish (but I love it anyway!) but this scene has got some amazing dancing and I mean real dancing!  There is some fluff in there involving a motorbike and various other props but the best parts are when it's just the dancers...

Beauty and the Beast
The moment you realise that she might love him too, lovely scene and that ballroom, the detail drawn in that is incredible.