Thursday Movie Picks: The Internet

It's Thursday! Time for It's Thursday! Time for Movie Picks. If you're new to this, Thursday Movie Picks is a fantastic series hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, where each week she picks a theme and we all choose 3 movies that we feel fit. This week's theme is The Internet.

I’m currently struggling to keep a straight face whilst writing this post, as whenever I type out ‘The Internet’ I’m just reminded about the time in The IT Crowd when Roy and Moss convince Jen that their router (was it a router?) is in fact...The Internet. 

Anyway, jokes aside, the internet is a weird and wonderful place, so it’s no wonder really that there’s a whole bunch of movies about it. I’m going with a bit of a theme within the theme this week, as my 3 choices focus on the darker, more sinister part of the internet. Hey, it’s not all sweetness and light here at Flick Chicks!

Perhaps you’ve heard of Julian Assange. If you haven’t, you must have heard of the whistleblowing online platform he created with his colleague Daniel Berg, WikiLeaks. The Fifth Estate (2013) follows the events of these colleagues, played by Benedict Cumberbatch and Daniel Bruhl as they find themselves at loggerheads when the platform really takes off. It’s not the most interesting thriller out there, but when I first watched it I knew very little about Julian Assange, so it was more of a fun, educational experience for me.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that I posted a review of Disconnect (2012) on here. It’s a fantastic movie, and tells multiple stories exploring the dangers of the internet, such as a bunch of school children ‘cat-fishing’ another student which goes terribly wrong, a young video chat-room stripper who lands into trouble when he agrees to tell his story to a reporter, and a grieving couple who have their identities stolen online. I’d have happily watched feature length movies of each of these stories. It’s a must-watch.

I want to say that the title of Ask Me Anything (2014) came from the infamous features on Reddit which go by the same name, or ‘AMAs’, but maybe that’s because I’ve been spending too much time there lately. Anyway, in this, Katie takes a year off before college to ‘find herself’, which leads to her creating a blog to detail her life, but mostly her sexual activities. Amongst all this, she finds herself involved with more than one man at a time. It’s an interesting watch, but takes a sharp turn at the end which leaves you confused.

Thursday Movie Picks: So Bad It's Good

It's Thursday! Time for It's Thursday! Time for Movie Picks. If you're new to this, Thursday Movie Picks is a fantastic series hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, where each week she picks a theme and we all choose 3 movies that we feel fit.

Some days, I just can’t handle a mind-bending thriller, a romance guaranteed to make me sob into my cup of tea, or an action that’s going to make my knuckles go white. Some days, I just need to watch something fun, and I don’t mean a comedy. I mean a movie that is undeniably terrible, but so darn enjoyable to watch! That’s what we’re celebrating this week, movies so bad they’re good.

I’ve actually got a theme within the theme this week, and it’s all to do with soundtracks. I’m a sucker for a catchy tune, and so there are a few movies I can think of that were of course terrible, but still brilliant to watch because of the soundtrack!

Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)

What is essentially an extended episode of the Hannah Montana TV series, there was absolutely no need for this movie. I’ve never watched any of the show, but I was on a long plane journey, and as a Miley Cyrus fan at the time, this seemed a reasonable way to pass the time. It was terrible of course, predictable in every sense with a plot only a 13 year old could love, but coupled with a cheesy soundtrack, I loved it! I’ve even got a couple of the songs in my iTunes library...in fact, both Jenna and I love the song Hoedown Throwdown! 

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006)

I almost feel pretty bad for including this, but it’s only after becoming a real movie fan that I’ve come to realise The Pick of Destiny was not a good movie. It's goofy in every sense, I mean, unless cock pushups are an actual thing (guys?) but the soundtrack that goes along with it is so good! This was my college gang’s favourite movie for a long time, and if you start playing anything by Tenacious D we all get fuzzy nostalgic feels.

Descendants (2015)

Do you love Disney? Do you want to see some of your favourite characters completely butchered on screen? Want to be filled with self loathing as you find yourself tapping your feet to an impossibly catchy tune? If your answer to any of these is yes, I’m a little worried for you, but well done for your honesty. It’s clear that Descendants is made for the younglings, which gives me no excuse for actually sitting through it, but I still find myself humming the tune to ‘Rotten to the Core’. I’ll grab my coat...

Thursday Movie Picks: Storms/Adverse Weather

It's Thursday! Time for Movie Picks. If you're new to this, Thursday Movie Picks is a fantastic series hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, where each week she picks a theme and we all choose 3 movies that we feel fit.

So, this week’s theme of Storms/Adverse Weather seems oddly fitting, as whilst I’m typing this it’s raining really quite heavily outside. No, wait, it’s actually snowing now! It’s not sticking though, sadly. Man I’d love to build a snowman right now.

Anyway! The three movies I’ve picked this week aren’t actually about a storm per se, but they do have very memorable storms within them. This was a really difficult week to whittle down to just three movies.

This was funny timing, as I watched Identity just last week, and so you’ll see my review soon. It’s an interesting, quite compact mystery/thriller about a group of people who find themselves stranded at night at a motel in Nevada due to, you guessed it, a particularly nasty rainstorm. The rain is that heavy it’s caused huge floods around the roads, leaving the group with nowhere else to go. Of course, things get tense as the group is murdered one by one, and the darkness and heavy rain really helps to build the suspense during those scarier scenes.

Time for some silliness. If you aren’t familiar with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009), it’s the story of a young scientist whose inventions constantly fail. That is, until he builds the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator, or FLDSMDFR for short. Rolls off the tongue doesn’t it? Well, the FLDSMDFR has the ability to turn water into food, but an accident sends the machine hurtling up into sky, inadvertently causing it to rain cheeseburgers! Things turn worse when a tornado formed of spaghetti and meatballs tears through the town.

You can’t talk storms without mentioning the God of Thunder himself, Thor. Subsequently, I can’t talk Thor without mentioning that scene in his original movie, titled Thor (2011), funnily enough. Forgive my girlish ways, but the scene at the crash site at night where Thor creates a storm as a distraction to take back his hammer Mjolnir is memorable indeed. Especially when the rain made everything all muddy and slippy, and the fighting ensued. Phew! 

Oh, and in true British fashion, there are blue skies outside now!

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies with Memorable Declarations/Confessions of Love

It's Thursday! Time for Movie Picks. If you're new to this, Thursday Movie Picks is a fantastic series hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, where each week she picks a theme and we all choose 3 movies that we feel fit.

This week’s theme is Movies with Memorable Declarations/Confessions of Love, and it’s also the first theme this month where I haven’t needed to Google what it meant (doh!). I’m going to try to make it through this whole post without mentioning that two-worded movie beginning with L and A...I think I’ve used it twice so far for this series...stay strong Allie, stay strong…

Anyway, I’m going with 2 classics and a personal favourite this week. Here goes!

I shamefully watched When Harry Met Sally (1989) for the first time last year, and it quickly became one of my favourite rom coms. Not only does it have that classic scene we all seem to know whether we’ve seen the movie or not (“I’ll have what she’s having”) but it also has one of the sweetest declarations of love ever, as Harry (Billy Crystal) runs through the streets of New York to finally tell Sally (Meg Ryan) how he really feels.

“I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour-and-a-half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that when I spend a day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes; and I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night.”

This week is proof that I will take any excuse I can to talk about Star Wars. In my defence though, one of the biggest highlights of watching the original movies was watching the romance between Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) grow. Never did I think I could really fall for Harrison Ford, until that cocky smuggler Han Solo stole every scene he was in. Let’s not forget that moment in Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) when Princess Leia finally gave in and told Han how she felt.

“I love you.”

“I know.”

Moving swiftly on to guilty pleasure territory! I’ve lost count of how many times my fiance and I have watched The Proposal (2009), it’ll just never get boring. Plus, 3 years ago when we were in New York on holiday flicking through channels in our hotel room, this was on! Funnily, the very next day we went to the top of the Rockefeller Center and he proposed to me! There you go, off topic rambles from me there. Anyway. Andrew’s (Ryan Reynolds) confession of love to Margaret (Sandra Bullock) at the end of the movie was equal parts sweet and hilarious.

“Three days ago, I loathed you. I used to dream about you getting hit by a cab. Then we had our little adventure up in Alaska and things started to changed. Things changed when we kissed. And when you told me about your tattoo. Even when you checked me out when we were naked. But I didn't realize any of this, until I was standing alone... in a barn... wifeless. Now, you could imagine my disappointment when it suddenly dawned on me that the woman I love is about to be kicked out of the country. So Margaret, marry me, because I'd like to date you.”

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies Adapted from Movies of a Different Language

It's Thursday! Time for Movie Picks. I'm so gutted I missed last week's theme, especially as I had only recently watched Flightplan! Anyway, Thursday Movie Picks is a fantastic series hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, where each week she picks a theme and we all choose 3 movies that we feel fit.

I really love taking part in this series, but every now and again there will be a theme that just sits right outside of my comfort zone, and I back out. This week’s theme in Movies Adapted from Movies of a Different Language. This is well out of my comfort zone. Firstly, I can count on one hand the number of foreign language movies I’ve seen, and I don’t need to use many fingers, either.

In fact, there are only 3 movies I can think of that I’ve seen that were adapted from a movie in another language, so this is not a ‘best of’ or a ‘hidden gem’ list in the slightest! They’re also all English language movies. So, please forgive me this week, but I’m looking forward to learning a lot from everyone else taking part.

Brothers (2009) is adapted from the Danish-language movie, Brødre (2004). It’s actually a fantastic movie in my opinion, but hard to watch for sure. Jake Gyllenhaal’s character is left to comfort his brother’s sister after he goes missing at war in Afghanistan. This is heartbreaking enough, but when his brother, played by Tobey Maguire, is found and returned home, tensions run high.

Delivery Man (2013) is adapted from the French-Canadian movie, Starbuck (2011). I’m a big fan of Vince Vaughn, but this was a bit of a let down. I didn’t actually realise until this week that it was a remake, and I’m curious to see the original now. Surely it wouldn’t have been re-made if it was terrible? Anyway, Delivery Man is based on a real-life situation where a man in the US came to realise that due to his donations, he was the father of 150 children.

And now I’m breaking an unspoken rule by picking a movie I’ve already chosen for another theme. Sorry! The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) is adapted from the Swedish-language movie, Män som hatar kvinnor (2009). Now say that 5 times quick. This is also based on a book of the same name, which I’m sure you knew already. It’s a great read, if you’re on the hunt for something new to start. It’s the story of a journalist who hunts down a woman who has been missing for over 40 years, with the help of a young computer hacker. It’s compelling, and gritty, and I highly recommend it!

Thursday Movie Picks: Post-Apocalyptic Movies

I can't believe Wanderer is into year 3 of Thursday Movie Picks! It was a blogging resolution here at Flick Chicks to get involved in this series more, and as all resolutions go, we missed the first week. Whoops!

Anyway, if you’re new to this, Thursday Movie Picks is a fantastic series hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, where each week she picks a theme and we all choose 3 movies that we feel fit. This week’s theme is Post-Apocalyptic Movies.

I quickly came to realise when putting my thoughts down onto paper that I’ve seen quite a few apocalyptic movies, but actually very few post-apocalyptic movies! That made it a little harder, but I’m also quite excited because I know I’ll be adding lots of great movies to my watch list this week. Here are my picks:

Despite being a big Disney fan, I only watched WALL-E (2008) for the first time last year! Despicable. Anyway, the movie is set in a bleak, distant future where mankind has fled Earth after it gets taken over by garbage. WALL-E is a garbage collecting robot with a cockroach for a friend and a hoard of collectibles he’s found over the years. One day, he spots another robot, named EVE, sent to Earth to look for signs of life. Thus begins one of the most beautiful love stories you’ll ever watch.

This is perhaps an easy pick, and certainly a movie still floating at the surface of my brain, but how could I not include Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) in this list?! Set in a vast, desolate desert where humanity is broken and people struggle to simply stay alive, the greatest, craziest and most visually stunning car chase takes place. It really is a fantastic movie, and without a doubt my favourite action movie of 2015.

A movie I haven’t watched for a long time, but fully deserves a place in this list. In I Am Legend (2007), Will Smith’s character is the only survivor in New York City, and probably the world, after a deadly virus wiped out civilization. It’s one of the most upsetting movies I’ve ever watched especially one scene in particular (you’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen it!) and as much as I want to watch it again, I think I’ll need a hug afterwards!

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies about Music/Making Music/Musicians

I rarely seem to contribute to Thursday Movie Picks, which is strange because I love it and everytime I see everyone's posts I think 'damn it I had a great idea for that...humph!'  Anyway, enough about me.....

Thursday Movie Picks is a great series hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, where each week she picks a theme and we all choose 3 movies that we feel fit. This week’s theme is movies about music/making music/musicians (no biopics allowed).

I was so excited when I saw the theme for this week, here are my picks:

Begin Again (2013)

A chance encounter between Gretta (Keira Knightley) a young musician just arrived in New York and Dan (Mark Ruffalo) a disgraced music executive, leads them to collaborating on a musical journey creating and reviving their careers.  I love this film, because it's so different to any other music based movie I have seen and the music was great....plus Adam Levine! *Swoon*

Pitch Perfect (2012)

Beca (Anna Kendrick) is a newbie at Bardon University and is encouraged (while naked) to join the Bardon Bellas the college's female a capella singing group.  Beca's presence provides the Bellas with a much needed shake up and helps them face off against the local boys group, The Trebles.  This was mine and Allie's very first review, way back when (check it out here) and we both loved it.  Its ridiculously hilarious, no matter how many time I watch it I laugh out loud and the music has me tapping my feet and singing along every time. (and I still blast 'Cups' in my car!!)

Whiplash (2014)

Andrew (Miles Teller) is desperate to be the World's best jazz drummer and gets into a prestigious music conservatory only to be pushed to his limits by the iron fist of Fletcher (J K Simmons).  I was amazed after watching this film as not a huge amount happens in the story, but I was completely and utterly engaged the whole time, I didn't take my eyes off the screen once.

Thursday Movie Picks: Secret Agents and Spies

Oh Thursday Movie Picks, how I’ve missed you! I shied away from the whole of October due to being a wimp for horrors, but I’m back now! 

Anyway, if you’re new to this, Thursday Movie Picks is a fantastic series hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, where each week she picks a theme and we all choose 3 movies that we feel fit. This week’s theme is Secret Agents and Spies.

2015 has been a great year for the topic actually, with the release of Kingsman: The Secret Service, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and Spectre, so I’m loving this week! Here are my picks:

Kicking off with something a little silly here, but you can’t deny that Penguins of Madagascar (2014) is a great fit this week. Those 4 loveable penguins are great secret agents themselves, but now that they have a movie of their own, they get to team up with another secret organisation, North Wind, led by a wolf whose name is Classified. Or it’s secret. I’m not sure! Together, they take down the evil Dr Octavius Brine, or, Dave, as he attempts to take over the world. So much more fun than I expected it to be!

One of my ultimate guilty pleasures, my go-to ‘I’m not feeling well’ movie is This Means War (2012). Chris Pine and Tom Hardy play CIA Agents who wind up realising they are both pursuing the same girl. Putting bros before hoes, they agree to let her decide which of them she would rather be with, but that doesn’t stop either of them using their secret agent skills to spy on each other, and ultimately, sabotage each other's’ dates.

Without a doubt, my favourite spy character is Austin Powers (International Man of Mystery, The Spy Who Shagged Me & Goldmember), played by Mike Myers. The first movie was one of the first grown-up comedies I ever watched, and I remember my Dad getting into trouble for letting me watch it when I was 11. Anyone only needs to utter the words ‘number one’ for my Dad and I to respond with ‘Hello Number One, I’m Number Two’! 

Thursday Movie Picks: Adopted/Foster Families

Happy Thursday, everyone! And a happy Autumn to you too, or Fall. Yesterday marked the 2015 Autumnal Equinox, and so now is the time I can officially put cinnamon in everything I eat and drink. I have a nice supply of autumnal fragranced Yankee Candle Tarts ready to burn until it’s socially acceptable for me to feel Christmassy.

Anyway, Thursday Movie Picks is a fantastic series hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, where each week she picks a theme and we all choose 3 movies that we feel fit. This week we’re looking at Adopted/Foster Families, and it’s a weird one for me, as all 3 of my choices are animated, family movies. I’m not sure if that means a lot of family movies contain adopted/foster families, or that I just watch far too many animated movies. Hey ho, here we go!

Perhaps not the most functional adopted family in the world, Despicable Me (2010) features Gru, a super-villain decides to adopt the 3 orphaned girls who tried to sell cookies to use them as part of his master plan to steal a shrink ray from his nemesis. Gru tries to abandon the girls at an amusement park, but is forced to ride the rollercoaster with them, and slowly, he grows to love these girls as his own. It all ends happily ever after for their little family with a ballet dance recital the girls perform for Gru, his Mother and all the Minions. 

My favourite ever Disney movie, Lilo & Stitch (2002) has a slightly unconventional adopted family. I mean ohana. Lilo lives with her sister who struggles to look after them both after their parents died. Lilo’s sister lets her adopt a dog from the local shelter and of course, Lilo picks the weirdest looking one out of them all, Stitch, who just happens to be an extraterrestrial experiment gone wrong. Stitch’s behaviour almost winds Lilo up in care, but he eventually learns the meaning of ohana, which means family, and family means that no one gets left behind, or forgotten.

Perhaps it’s odd to choose the sequel, but  thought Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) has some really endearing moments in regards to Po the panda and his adoptive father Mr Ping, a goose. In the sequel, Po struggles with his past as memories come to the surface about his mother. After learning that she died protecting him from Lord Shen of the peacock clan, and eventually defeating Lord Shen himself, he returns home to Mr Ping and declares him to be his father.

Thursday Movie Picks: Journalists/Reporters for Print/TV

Happy Thursday everyone! Did you know that there’s only 99 days to go until Christmas? Sorry. 

In a week where politics seems to have taken over the radio and TV in the UK, I’m more than happy to switch off and  immerse myself into movies, and what better way than with Wanderer’s Thursday Movie Picks? This week we’re looking at Journalists/Reporters for Print/TV, and here are my picks:

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013) is a British to the bone Comedy about a chain of events which sees DJ Presenter/Reporter Alan Partridge’s radio station being taken over by a group of corporate big-wigs. The situation worsens when Alan (Steve Coogan) upsets a colleague who then decides to hold everyone hostage. In a crazy turn of events, Alan becomes a hostage negotiator between them and the Scotland Yard. I was dragged kicking and screaming into the cinema for this, but it was actually a lot funnier than I expected. Complete silliness of course, but good fun!

One of my favourite films of last year, Nightcrawler (2014) is the story of Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), a desperate man trying to get into the world of crime journalism. As he becomes more and more successful, his morality blurs into the point of darkness. I initially overlooked this film completely but I’m so glad I gave it a go in the end, it really left me cold by the time the credits rolled. Our full review is here.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) is a movie based on the book of the same name by Stieg Larsson, in which a journalist seeks the help of a female hacker to find a woman who has been missing for forty years. This is the only version I’ve seen, I’m yet to watch the Daniel Craig version, but I just loved how gritty this was and how true it stayed to my vision of the book. The book is definitely worth a read, too!

Thursday Movie Picks: Train Movies

It’s Thursday again! Time for another round of Thursday Movie Picks hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves. 

This week, it feels like Autumn is well and truly on it’s way, and it won’t be long before the work commuters will be hearing the dreaded ‘...delayed due to leaves on the line’ whilst they wait for their busy train to work. I’ve been there! So, without further ado, here are my train related picks this week.

"Tickets and passes please...tickets and passes..."

Probably one of the most obvious choices, but absolutely one of my favourites, Source Code (2011) is a cracking thriller in which Jake Gyllenhaal discovers he is part of an experimental government program in which he needs to find out who the bomber of a commuter train is. He has only 8 minutes to find his target, or the train will blow up and he’ll have to start all over again. I thought it would be a little stale with the repeated scenes, but it’s actually one of my favourite movies ever.

It’s only September, I know, but we’re talking about trains, and how can I not mention one of my favourite Christmas movies, The Polar Express (2004)? A magical movie in which Tom Hanks plays over 50% of the entire cast, Santa’s elves not included, and I can’t believe that it’s 11 years old now. Since starting to blog I’ve come to realise not many out there like The Polar Express much, but the songs in it give me festive goosebumps!

The only reason I watched Unstoppable (2010) a couple of years ago was for Chris Pine, and I fully expected it to be a bore-fest. How interesting could a movie be about a freight train out of control? Very, it turns out, and I was sat on the edge of my seat for quite some time. It had a great mix of action scenes and drama, and I was really proved wrong.

I want to put out an honourable mention to Snowpiercer which I would have included, but I’ve picked it for a different theme already. 

Thursday Movie Picks: Teachers

Hellooo. Allie here, remember me? I kind of disappeared for a long time. I’m back now, I promise! Whilst I’m still kicking myself into gear I thought now would be a great time to jump back on the Thursday Movie Picks wagon, what with it being Thursday and all that.

Thursday Movie Picks is hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves. Each week brings a new theme, and each week we all pick 3 movies that fit the theme. This week is Teachers, which is very fitting as all the kids are heading back to school. Is summer really over already?

My first pick is a movie I haven’t seen in years, but I’ve seen it so many times I remember it clearly. Plus, any time I hear the song ‘On My Way’ I start thinking about pancakes. Anyway, there are a number of teachers in Matilda, but the one on my mind is Head Teacher Mrs Trunchbull. She was the worst! I think we all saw our own Head Teachers that way though. The scene with her and Bruce Bogtrotter will forever be etched in my mind, and chocolate fudge cake never tasted the same after I watched Matilda.

Moving on to something a little more obscure, my second pick is Starter for 10. It’s so conventionally British it’s almost cringey, but it was an entertaining watch. James McAvoy joins his University’s University Challenge team, schooled by the leader, Benedict Cumberbatch, who takes on a teacher’s role for his team. Only he’s a bit of a jerk, and gets a well deserved fist in the face. Even I laughed at that part!

I realise I’ve picked 2 terrible teachers so far, so for my third choice, let me pick my favourite movie teacher of all time, Professor Lupin, played by David Thewlis. Okay, so Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban isn’t a movie about a teacher, but it’s filled with teachers! Professor Lupin in my opinion is/was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and his bond with Harry was one of my favourite things about the whole film.

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…

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.

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.

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.