Trivia Round-Up: January 2015

Gosh, it's that time again...another Trivia round-up post!

Lucy (2014)

According to Luc Benson, this film took 10 years to come to screen.

So the same amount of time as Inception, if only the final products could have been as good!!

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)

The trailer shows an alternate version of the club scene kiss with Nick and Norah. When Tris comes up to ask them how they met - it is Nick who tells Tris that they have the same dentist. In the actual movie, Norah is the one that tells this to Tris.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

During the parade several of the people seen dancing (including the construction worker and the window washer) originally had nothing to do with the film. They were simply dancing to the music being played and John Hughes found it so humorous that he told the camera operators to record it.

Unknown (2011)

Olivier Schneider, the actor that played Smith (the assassin with the glasses), was also a stunt coordinator for the film. He also was the stunt coordinator for Taken, also starring Liam Neeson.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)

There were 120 "foodimals" made for the movie but only 39 made it to the final film. One of the foodimals that didn't make the movie was a fire-breathing T. rex S'more Monster with a marshmallow body, graham-cracker mouth and chocolate teeth.

Weekend at Bernies (1989)

Terry Kiser (Bernie)'s stunt double suffered a few broken ribs during filming due to all the pitfalls and stunts of playing a dead man; most notably in the scene involving 'Bernie' being dragged around the surface of the ocean, bumping into metal floating obstacles.

I'm a terrible person but I couldn't help but chuckle when I read this!

Begin Again (2013)

Much of this film is improvised

After seeing this trivia it made me think and this film has a similar vibe to Drinking Buddies, in the way they talk and pause more so than in usual films.  Drinking Buddies is also mostly improvised. That makes me even more sad about Drinking Buddies, Begin Again was just so much better!

What If (2013)

In Canada and the UK, the movie was called "The F Word." Hollywood changed it to avoid an R rating.

The Godfather (1972)
Marlon Brando wanted to make Don Corleone "look "like a bulldog," so he stuffed his cheeks with cotton wool for the audition. For actual filming, he wore a mouthpiece made by a dentist; this appliance is on display in the American Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York.

200th POST!!!!

This is our 200th post, can you believe it, we have written 200 posts and people have actually read them!!  Also, we are very close to 20,000 page views which I personally think I quite the achievement for two 'hobby bloggers'.

We are thrilled with the success of the blog so far and the blogging friends we have made in the last 10 months, we both love the blogging community and I don't know about Allie but I would love to have more time to read each and every post and more but there is just never enough hours in the day.

Anyway - we were trying to come up with an idea for our 200th post and it wasn't going too well, then we went to the cinema to see Foxcatcher and I saw a poster for Ex-Machina.  Now (bear with me here!) I had seen the trailer for this on the TV and they said the name of the film and I was gobsmacked.  I said to Allie, 'how do you pronounce that film title?' and she said "Ex-Ma-sheen-a" (as you would expect it to be pronounced) but no!  It is in fact pronounced "Ex-mack-in-a" whaaaaat?! Does this make any sense to anyone?  Is there a perfectly justifiable reason for this that I just don't understand?!

Que a lot of loud laughter right in the middle of the ticket line, and several funny looks as we both pull funny faces pronouncing the film name in different ways!

This brought about a conversation about other names that should be pronounced one way but aren't (and it's clearly the movie makers that are wrong not us!).  First radio advertisement I heard for the second Hobbit movie, I was insistent that the radio advert was completely wrong in calling him "sm-ow-g" instead of "sm-aw-g" - surely anyone what read the book pronounced it "sm-aw-g" in their head?

Allie then continued the trend with a corker, "How was I supposed to know it wasn't pronounced Les Miserables?" Which admittedly doesn't transcribe will into text but to clarify, this was said in a full Birmingham (England) accent not "lay mis-rab" as many Brits attempt to French it up but exactly as it is spelt "less mis-ra-bull" - it is considerably possible that this one was funnier in person that it will come across in text, but I had to put it in there.

Excuse me, I was born in Kingswinford! Is that not in Birmingham?! Go away with your 'full Birmingham accent'! I do tend to do this a lot though, mainly when a book I've read ends up on the big screen. Was I the only person who wanted to shout 'WHO?' when Hermoine's name is said? I read it as 'Her-moyn' for years, and that really threw me.

So based on this, we decided that would be the basis of our 200th post, only to realise that they were really the only three examples we could think of.  Has anyone else noticed this? Does it bother you as much as me? Do you have any more examples because this post is looking a little thin on the ground!

Top 10 TV shows I NEED to watch (Jenna)

I have actually started this one, I've watched the first episode but it just hasn't gripped me so I just haven't got round to carrying on.  Anyone who has already watched this, does it get better?  Also, is every episode in the following format: dramatic start, boring middle, cliffhanger - therefore the only reason why you watch the next episode it to find out the follow up to the cliffhanger?

If Orange is the New Black is anything to go by Netflix original series are worth a watch anyway, but also I love Kevin Spacey, its won numerous awards so I think I need to get a move on with this.  Can anyone tell me what it's about though?

I've heard that this is  bit like Once Upon a Time but a bit darker which I like the sounds of as OUAT can be a little bit cheesy at times (I still love it though) but this could fill a gap until the mid-season premiere in March.

Apparently, they are making Entourage: The Movie.  I feel like I need to have seen the series before that comes out and I have been keen to start watching this, I think it looks great. 

This has been recommended to me and based on the title I DO NOT want to watch it, however I have been informed that it's not a horror - Can anyone confirm this?! 

I saw one random episode of this when I was overseas and there was nothing else on the TV and I actually really enjoyed it, not that I knew what the heck was going on!  This is one that once I start I'll be hooked and I'll binge watch the whole thing in a weekend.

I have less than no idea what this is about but EVERYONE seems to be talking about it, therefore I feel I should give it a go.  Can anyone clue me in as to what it's about?

This is for Allie, she LOVES this series and I have promised her for years that I will watch it so we can discuss it in depth at every Flick Chicks movie night and I just keep putting it off.  Now she has started Supernatural, I think it's only fair that I give this a go!

Am I the only person in the world that hasn't seen 24? It really didn't appeal to me when it came out, then I got a bit interested but realised I was already 2 seasons in and there is TWENTY FOUR episodes in a season - I get why there are so many obviously but still - OMG!

Many will probably not agree with this choice, but I was a HUGE fan of Gossip Girl and The OC so surely I will love this?!

Blind Spot: The Godfather (1972)

Phew, I can’t believe I nearly fell behind before I’d even begun! Just where has January gone? Nevermind, because last night I finally found the time to sit and watch The Godfather. Err, why did no one warn me it was nearly 3 hours long? My attention span struggles with 2! Several tea breaks later…

I’m going to come out and say this now. This review is not going to do the film justice at all. It’s a brilliant film, I know that, and yet there was just too much going on for me to follow. For anyone who hasn’t watched The Godfather (which I guess is no one) follows the struggles of the Corleone family following Don Vito’s decision to give up his position as head of the family. That’s about as descriptive as I can be without getting something wrong.

So, let’s try and assemble a review without making myself look like a twonk. Despite it’s length, and I did feel every minute, every scene counts and there isn’t anything that I think could be left out. It wouldn’t be fair to say I was bored, but I constantly lost track of who everyone was, what family or group they belonged to, and who was being killed and why. That’s no fault of the film though, and I’m sure with a couple more viewings it’ll be clear as day and I can truly appreciate it. Has anyone started watching Game of Thrones without reading the books first and felt completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters? That’s how I felt.

Due to the age of the film, I didn’t think anything could really shock me, but some scenes were actually quite alarming. The horse’s head scene had me cringing a little, and the murder at the toll booth gave me a start, but the event at the restaurant leading to Michael’s need to leave was surprisingly chilling. I was completely on edge, and I might have stopped breathing for a while!

Despite my confusion, I really enjoyed watching The Godfather, and I can’t decide whether I should re-watch it or just move straight onto Part 2. Perhaps I’ll read a write-up by an actual professional and clue myself in first! I hope this isn’t a sign for the rest of my Blind Spot choices, but only time will tell…

So, apologies for this rather brief review, but I promise to re-visit it sometime in the near future, with a clearer head on my shoulders. Bring on February’s Blind Spot! Wait...sweet JESUS it’s 195 minutes long! What have I gotten myself into?!

2015 Blind Spot Series

Or, as I should call it, the moment where I truly embarrass myself with a list of 12 films I really should have seen already. If you aren’t already familiar with the Blind Spot Series, Ryan McNeil at The Matinee is the genius who created the concept, and he explains it much better than I ever could.  

I’ve really enjoyed following others’ Blind Spot adventures over the past few months, and as there are so many amazing films I haven’t seen yet, and struggle to bring myself to get round to watching, I thought now would be a great time to get involved and take part myself.

So, without further ado, here is myine (and Jenna's) 2015 Blind Spot list:

The Godfather (1972)

Schindler’s List (1993)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Taxi Driver (1976)

My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

Platoon (1986)

Casablanca (1942)

The Terminator (1984)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Goodfellas (1990)

On the Waterfront (1954)

Life is Beautiful (1997)

My aim is to watch them in that order, but obviously I might have to switch it around depending on availability of the films themselves. I’m pretty excited to tackle this list actually!

Allie found this series, I hadn't even heard of it but I had to get involved, so as you can see I jumped all over Allie's post!!  We considered 2 lists of 12 but that seemed like a lot, so I had to take a bit of editing to Allie's list as there was a few I had already seen.  I feel this is a good time to mention that The Matrix was on there - Allie has not yet seen THE MATRIX!!!  I feel like I'm going to have to bully her into this one anyway even though it's no longer on the list. (You bully me anyway, you don't need a reason!)  I can't wait to get stuck in and make a dent in the IMDb Top 250 movies.

Is anyone still reading at this point, or did you all gasp in horror and close the page before you got to the end of the list?

Review: What If (2013)

I was surprised to see this come up on Allie's worst films of 2014 because I had already seen it and actually really enjoyed it. Not you too! I feel like I've upset everyone with that list! I honestly enjoyed it at the time, but I can't remember anything now!

Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe) meets Chantry (Zoe Kazan) at a party and they instantly hit it off, but unfortunately she already has a boyfriend so they agree to be friends.  Wallace falls in love with her but has to learn to live with it while being her best friend.  The chemistry between them is obvious but can they just be friends??

This was a really easy watch for me, I just enjoyed the story and the comedy throughout and I didn't have to think too much.  The lead actors have great chemistry and you really were willing them to get their act together and get together already.  I do agree with Allie that it wasn't overly memorable, after a few weeks I can't remember a lot of the details of the film but I do remember really enjoying it.

Full of charm and different from your usual to rom com, it kind of reminded me of When Harry met Sally, the age old question, can a man and a woman just be friends?! I do have one niggle with the movie though, it may just be me but Daniel Radcliffe cannot act, I really don't understand what all the fuss is about with him, I loved the Harry Potter movies but his acting was always terrible.. Just me?! He always seems to look really awkward, but I think it works for him? Sort of?

One thing I remember now which I liked was the little animated sequences, they really tied the story together and they fitted in well with the lighthearted theme.

Lovely entertaining movie that requires no concentration and leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling inside :)

(probably would have been higher but DR's acting knocked it a bit for me!!)

Review: Begin Again (2013)

Another long haul flight, another list as long as my arm of films to review.  I wanted to do this one first because it was the one that I enjoyed the most.  I honestly didn't know what to expect, I didn't know much about the storyline which probably helped as I had no expectations.

I do remember hearing about Begin Again, but I don't remember it ever actually coming out in the cinema! I must have missed it, but no matter, because Jenna very kindly gave it to me on DVD last month. After promising I would watch it the very next day when I got home, I of course lost track and only watched it the other day!

Begin Again starts with two timelines of Dan (Mark Ruffalo) and Gretta (Keira Knightley) and how they both ended up in the same bar on the same night.  Dan, a down and out drunk who is slowly losing his business and Gretta a heartbroken musician ready to leave New York for good.  They come together on a new music project that might just change their lives.

I loved this, it didn't have a huge storyline or crazy twists but I was engrossed throughout, I found myself smiling through the whole film.  For me, this is one of those films that I will buy on DVD and whenever I feel a bit down I'll put it on and I'll smile.  I was thrilled when SPOILER ALERT at the end they didn't bring the relationship between Dan and Gretta to a romantic level, they kept them as friends which is rarely seen but fits perfectly with this film.  Its not a love story, its not a drama it's something all it's own.

I'm not a huge music junkie, but there are some films that I have loved for their soundtrack alone, and Begin Again is one of them. Seriously, as soon as I can get my hands on this one it will be blasted out of my car's speakers on my way to and from work every day. I was tapping my foot throughout every song and just couldn't stop smiling.

Knightley's pouting bothered me, but it always will, in any film, I just have to look past it. Aw, I know she winds a lot of people up but I love her! You really should dislike Dan but the more you get to know of him, the more you want him to succeed and be ok.  The movie has a real charm and humour that pulled me in and kept me there until it was over, at which point I didn't want it to be over. 

I felt a bit 'meh' about Mark Ruffalo before, but he absolutely won me over in this. He starts out as a complete loser and a bit of an ass, but his character really develops as the story goes on and I was so happy with his outcome.

Surprisingly, the biggest downfall for me was James Corden, now I am a HUGE James Corden fan so for me to admit this is a big deal!!  I just felt like his character, Steve, a school friend of Gretta and her ex Dave, was only there to provide narrative on Gretta and Dave's failed relationship, instead of showing them in maybe flashbacks they use his stories to explain things.  It's just didn't feel like he brought any other benefits to the game.

Yeah, I don't even think is was anything to do with James Corden himself, but his character's apartment had more use than his character itself I thought, and then he just sorta disappeared all together!

Overall, I really loved this (if you couldn't already tell) the music is great and the story is just so lovely that you can't help but smile.  I dare you not to love this!

I'm a sucker for romcoms as a guilty pleasure more than anything, but Begin Again was a truly great film, and even my fiance tore himself away from his gaming to sit with me and watch it!

Oh, how have I not mentioned Adam Levine yet? How did I not know he was even in this film before his beautiful face blessed my screen? He may have been a naughty boy, but I'll let him off.

Dysfunctional Families - Cast-a-Thon

As we have finally posted the round-up to out previous Blogathon, we thought it would be a good time for a new one!!  Everyone undoubtedly has their own dysfunctional family and every has no question has seen a movie that includes a dysfunctional family of sorts.  This blogathon with cast the ULTIMATE dysfunctional family by picking the best of the best (or worst of the worst) from dysfunctional families in movies and creating your own.

I actually got this idea after doing the awesome Slasher Cast-a-thon hosted by the amazing Dell on Movies back in October and watching This is where I leave you, involving a family dealing with death of the patriarch in the most dysfunctional ways possible (review to follow at some point).

Anyway, as always there are rules but they are simple:

1. Build a cast for your dysfunctional family from movies ONLY.  You can have as many characters as you like but you must include the following:

• Lead Character - Generally the most normal of the family and spends a lot of time rolling eyes or telling family members off for their bad behaviour.

• Inappropriate Mother/Father/Parents - Usually involves oversharing, inappropriate comments, name calling, swearing, drinking and/or drug use etc etc.

• Stroppy Teenager/Manchild - Either the immature teenager who hates his family or the fully grown manchild who struggles to accept that he is an adult and should behave like one.

• Uncomfortable Stranger - Usually a new girlfriend/boyfriend of someone in the family who is utterly appalled by the behaviour of the family they are staying with/meeting.

• Traumatised Child - This is usually always a small child who has to witness the craziness of their family first hand and behaves in a certain way because of it.

• Embarrassing Grandparent(s) - Whether alone or with their equally awkward spouse, you can always count on them to say or do something that mortifies the rest of the family.

• Damaged Sibling/Cousin - Whether they have gone off the rails due to their messed up childhood or have just lost their way in life, there is always the sibling/cousin who doesn't quite feel they match up to the rest of their family.

• Loyal Pet [Optional] - Despite their entirely dysfunctional family, the lead character can always rely on their loyal pet. Or can they?

They don't necessarily have to be in the named role in their original movie (i.e. the character doesn't have to be a mother figure in their movie to be chosen as the inappropriate mother) however you do have to explain your reasoning behind your choice.

2.  Include the banner above in your post and link it to this post.

3. Comment on this post or e-mail flickchicks2014@gmail.com to let us know you have contributed.

We will as always (at some point) contribute ourselves to this masterpiece but until then we would love to hear your ideas for the most dysfunctional family in movies.

We also know that everyone is busy busy so we like to give you all a looooong lead time so we get the most amount of posts in by the deadline (then we end up waiting nearly 2 months before posting the round-up oops!!). 

So the deadline for this one is Friday 27th February but we are very flexible over here at Flick Chicks so if you miss the deadline, post anyway we'll add it in :-)

Happy family building...

Review: Weekend at Bernie's (1989)

Sometimes I think I have no right to be a film blogger. There are so many ‘classics’ and ‘must-watch’s that I haven’t seen, and most of my film collection is post-2003, but my collection is growing and becoming more diverse over time, all thanks to this blogging community. I watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off not too long ago and Weekend at Bernie’s was swiftly moved to the top of my list. I think a new found love of 80’s comedies is beginning to grow inside of me!

Do I even need to explain the plot? So many other films and TV shows have referenced Weekend at Bernie’s that I could have written most of this part of my review before even watching it. Richard (Jonathan Silverman) and Larry (Andrew McCarthy) are invited to spend the weekend at their boss Bernie’s (Terry Kiser) beach house, seemingly as a reward for discovering a huge discrepancy in the company’s finances. It turns out that Bernie hires colleagues of his to murder Richard and Larry, but the deal backfires when they decide they’ve had enough and kill Bernie instead.

I really enjoyed Weekend at Bernie’s, more than I thought I would actually. I just love how it’s completely unrealistic, and yet still immensely enjoyable. Too often now I find myself watching nitpicking at films because a certain element just isn’t viable, yet Weekend at Bernie’s relies on that aspect for its comedy factor. I was waiting for someone, anyone to discover the fact that Bernie was in fact dead but it never happened!

This is a classic, I am a huge Andrew McCarthy fan anyway (Mannequin was one of my favourite movies as a kid).  The fact that the lead character is 'dead' is quite a large nitpick but it works for this!

The highlight of Weekend at Bernie’s for me was Terry Kiser playing the dead Bernie Lomax. I’m sure the movie budget would have been smaller if a dummy body was used instead, but Terry’s reactions to such minor things such as a character leaning on the soft he’s sat in provided so many laughs for me. My favourite moment is towards the end where Larry and Richard walk Bernie down the pier with their shoelaces tied together, it was just so funny to watch! Brilliant scene, I think if I watched this today I would still laugh as much as I did when me and my Mom used to watch it as a kid (she had a major crush on Andrew McCarthy so his films were a staple in our home!)

Since watching the movie I’ve been able to go back to friends, family, and now new work colleagues to tell them they can finally stop shunning me. A colleague at my new work place was so happy to hear that I’d seen it that we spent the next half hour at work discussing all the funny moments, and then he told me about the Brat Pack. I might have to dedicate a separate post to this but I’d never heard the term before. It’s basically a collection of actors and actresses who often starred together in a lot of 80’s movies. The result of this now is that I’ve scratched one movie off my ‘must watch’ list, and added at least another dozen. Doh.  Add the rest of Andrew McCarthy's cataglogue to this as well (Mannequin, Only You, Weekend at Bernies 2) and that is quite a list!!
This film is terrible really but awesome at the same time (not quite in the league with Sharknado), you have to watch it to love it.  McCarthy and Silverman have great chemistry throughout, one being the slacker and the other the ultimate worrier and logical one makes for great viewing.  I actually really would like to watch this again now and see if I love it as much as I did back in the day but if Allie's review is anything to go by I'm sure I will!

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by Weekend at Bernie’s, and if there is anyone out there who hasn’t seen it yet, please do so soon! You won’t be disappointed. Has anyone seen the sequel? I’d love to know what anyone thinks of it.  Yep, disappointing as most sequels are!!

Mini Reviews: Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Unknown (2011) & Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)

I've been putting off Edge of Tomorrow for ages now, but I did finally relent and watched it just before Christmas. Jenna's already written a full review which you can read here. I really enjoyed the film actually, and I can see why friends of mine really pushed me to watch it! I'm just not a huge Tom Cruise fan; he's the main reason I waited so long. Emily Blunt was brilliant though I thought, I'm liking her more each time I see her. I also wasn't expecting there to be so much humour in what I thought would be a dead pan serious film! Worth a watch for sure.

I was talking about films with my Grandparents the other week and Liam Neeson cropped up. They mentioned seeing him in something good where he was a complete badass (probably not their exact words) and so I said 'Oh, you mean Taken!' No, not that. 'On a plane? Non-Stop?' Nope. 'Did he punch a wolf in the face? Was it The Grey?' Definitely not. It was Unknown! A film which, until then, was unknown to me. (Plenty more where that came from) 

Feeling the need to watch more Liam Neeson we watched it the very next day. Neeson plays a man who, after an accident, suffers memory loss, but it's a little more than that as his memories come back to him, but his wife doesn't know who he is. There's a twist I didn't see until the very last second, and I really enjoyed it, but it just didn't have the wow factor for me.

Sometimes, I just need to watch a fun, animated kids film. Do you ever get those days? I haven't seen Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs all in one go yet, I somehow watched the last half and then the first half about 2 months later. I got the gist though! I know the sequel wasn't for everyone, but it's filled with bad puns and tasty food and that was all I really wanted and needed! It was enough to make me want to watch the first one properly. 

Review: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

As you all know, I have a very long list of older films that friends and family have told me I absolutely have to see. For some reason, Ferris Bueller's Day Off was never one of them, and yet it's been stuck in my head for weeks now. I'm wondering if a TV show I watch has referenced it somewhere? Never mind though, because I sat down last night and watched it.

Matthew Broderick plays a guy in High School named Ferris who decides to pretend to be sick so that he can have the day off school. His parents suspect nothing but as the day goes on, the principal of the school grows more and more suspicious, and tries to catch Ferris.

I wish now that I had seen this when I was younger, I think it would have been one of those nostalgic films that I make sure I still watch every now and again, like Home Alone or National Lampoon's Vacation. In fact I'm left wondering whether Home Alone drew a little inspiration from the comic violence in this, or was that just a thing back then?

Ferris has that natural charm that makes him instantly likeable and funny. I also loved Alan Ruck's character, Ferris' best friend Cameron. The two together were a perfect pair and served up a lot of laughs for me. The film reminded me also of the cartoon show, Phineas & Ferb, have you ever heard of it? Their sister spends every episode trying to get them caught for the trouble they cause, but fails every time.

One of my favourite parts was how Ferris breaks the fourth wall by talking to us as the audience. That sort of thing just really tickles me. I love the Deadpool comics and he does it all the time. Honestly this was just a really enjoyable film and I can see myself watching it again soon. Here's a quick clip of my favourite scene, Ferris, Sloane and Cameron trying to talk their way into a fancy restaurant.

I'm shocked that Ferris Bueller's Day Off isn't part of the IMDB Top 250, but I would put it in a list of films everyone needs to see at least once.

Review: Nick and Norah's Inifinate Playlist (2008)

I could have sworn Allie told me to watch this, so I got all excited when I'd seen it text her straight away to tell her.  Turns out, not only was Allie not the one who told me about this film but she hadn't even heard of it.  So there you go!  I watched it anyway so here is the review:

Nick (Michael Cera) meets Norah (Kat Dennings) during a particularly crazy night out trying to find the band Where's Fluffy.  Norah has to prove she has a boyfriend so asks Nick to pretend to be it, only to realise the girl she is pretending for is Nick's ex Tris (who he happens to be obsessed with).  Nick's band mates try to push Nick and Norah together while they search for Where's Fluffy and Norah's drunk best friend, Caroline (Ari Graynor).

I didn't really know what to expect with this film as I  knew nothing about it before I started watching it.  I think not having expectations can make all the difference when watching a movie.  I loved it, it was funny, heart warming and different to most rom-coms out there right out.  I always like Michael Cera, I think he has a real dry humour about him, which makes him that much funnier and Kat Dennings is always great.  They actually work really well together (which i'm not sure I expected) you actually ended up rooting for them and their over-before-it-starts romance.

They have thrown in some gross out humour, particularly the drunk Caroline toilet scene which actually nearly made me gag on my cheese on toast (kind of wish I hadn't been eating at that point).  Most of the scenes with Caroline, although comical, seem to have been thrown in at the last minute and sort ruin the flow of the movie.  They could have made it just as good without all the background noise, instead sticking with Nick and Norah's blossoming love story.

More romance than humour but everyone knows I'm a sucker for a love story, so I'm sold.

White Collar Finale

Not too long ago, I decided to hop onto one of the biggest bandwagons of all time and started reading the 50 Shades books on my kindle on the way to work, barely even taking in any words because I was too busy looking like a shady drug dealer, looking behind my back every 2 seconds in case someone was on to me. You know how much I like to go off topic, but this does actually relate to White Collar, I promise.

I joined in the heated debates about which actor I would pick if there were to ever be a 50 Shades film (never did I think it would happen!) and I’m actually struggling to recall who my first choice actually was. Knowing my 2012 (2011?) self, I probably put together some elaborate plan as to just how Ryan Reynolds could do it. Anyway, I saw a friend of a friend post on Facebook the picture below with her argument as to why Matt Bomer was the perfect Christian Grey. I agreed with her instantly, even though I had no idea who he was.

That, folks, is the reason I started watching White Collar. I told you my rambles were heading somewhere, didn’t I?

If you’ve never watched it before, White Collar is what I assume is your typical FBI show, although I’ve never watched CSI or any other show like it, so I got to watch it with fresh eyes and no cliches in my mind. Neal Caffrey is a highly experienced art thief, counterfeiter and con man, who breaks out of prison in the very first episode. Peter Burke is the FBI agent who put him there in the first place, and secures Neal a deal whereby he uses his expertise to help the FBI on their white collar cases. I think when I started watching, the show had just returned from it’s Season 3 mid-series break, so I got to marathon it for a while, which was the best part of my commute to work.

Every episode is a little story of it’s own with a new case that Neil and Peter work on, usually with some sort of art or literature theme (I actually feel smarter after watching this show) but with an overarching bigger problem each season which keeps your interest up every time. It definitely got frustrating once I caught up and had to wait a whole week to find out what happened next!

Spoilers ahead now for the final episode which I watched last night…

I don’t like finales. Season finales are painful enough because there’s months to wait before the next one, but I get attached to my shows and don’t like them ending! It was White Collar’s time though, and I’m glad in a way they didn’t stretch it out, because it would have ruined it. Better to end on a high! Just like Dexter, I knew White Collar could only end one of two ways, Neal would either get his deserved freedom, or the Pink Panther case would go sour and he’d be stuck with the FBI. It became blindingly obvious within the first 10 minutes of the final episode though that Neal dying was a very possible outcome. Too many heart-warming conversations, Peter and Elizabeth’s baby confirmed as a boy?

It was a brilliant episode. I cried no less than 3 times at Neal’s death and everyones reactions, but came to peace with it fairly quickly. It was an unexpected ending, up until 30 minutes ago of course, but I could accent it and move on. Until everything turned odd…

So Neal isn’t dead after all! He’s in Paris, and the Louvre just stepped up it’s security. Is that because they’ve lost something precious? Or have they just appointed a new head of security? I don’t know yet, but I like that it’s open to suggestion. What did bother me though was the ‘Sherlock’ factor to it all. It was just a bit too much for me. Also, did Mozzie know, or not? I’ve read convincing arguments on both sides, but my favourite theory is that Mozzie was in on it too, but had to make it convincing or Peter and his family would be at risk of the Pink Panther’s wrath. He left the bottle of wine for Peter, and the playing card in the storage so that Peter would know, and then left for Paris to meet up with Neal. I can be happy with that. I think I’m just still in mourning.

White Collar has been with me for 3 years and I have loved every moment. I have a hole in my heart now, in the shape of a fedora.