Thursday 3 March 2016

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.

identity-movie-2003-storm-bad-weather

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.

cloudy-chance-meatballs-2009-storm-bad-weather

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.

thor-movie-2011-storm-bad-weather

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!

24 comments:

  1. Thor is a really inspired choice, I love that pick. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is a cute one too.

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    1. I might just have to watch Thor tonight after writing this, haha. I also made sure I had meatballs for dinner last night, I got hungry!
      - Allie

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  2. I remember Identity!!! I saw that in theater, just a few months before I got married. I remember it well because I went to this really old theater (the only one still playing it) and it was storming that night and the lights in the theater were flickering all night because of some electrical issues and so...well...it was a creepy night all the way around!

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    1. No way! That's awesome! I would have freaked the hell out if I were there.
      - Allie

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  3. I've seen Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and I really liked the message but I struggled to stay awake. I don't know why, it happened with the second as well.

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    1. Haha! I managed to stay awake, but I got real hungry :P
      - Allie

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  4. Love the direction you took this! Thor and Cloudy ate GREAT choices. And so is Identity, for that matter.

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  5. Nice picks! Identity sounds good! I think I tried recording it once but my family oh so kindly deleted it. I'm a Cusack fan so I think its time to seek this out again.

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    1. Ooh if you're a Cusack fan I think you'll enjoy it! It's probably not the best movie in its genre but it's a good watch :)
      - Allie

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  6. Love that you came up with three such unusual choices! I saw Identity in the theatre and didn't care for it much, haven't thought of it since I don't think but what a terrific out of the main choice. I've only seen bits and pieces of Meatballs as I walked through the room when my nieces or nephew were watching, it looks cute just not my thing. Thor is super for the theme even though I hated that movie.

    My second choice surprised me a bit by being the title of the week, it's dumb fun and apparently more memorable than I realized. Here's my three:

    Into the Storm (2014)-Soggy in every way movie about a mega-storm front that lays waste to a Midwest town. Like many current disaster movies this puts a group of people that the audience knows nothing about in peril and then expects them to be invested in their plight. Some good special effects but that’s about all. Starts out okay but quickly slips into absurdity.

    The Day After Tomorrow (2004)-Big, dumb but fun cautionary tale. Climatologist Dennis Quaid and his team witness a huge crack in an ice shelf and warn the world authorities that it’s a sign of a coming cataclysm but no-one’s listening. Next thing you know superstorms start forming and causing havoc and who should be stuck right smack dab in the middle of the biggest? Why Quaid’s son Jake Gyllenhaal of course! Hits its fever pitch when Quaid outruns the Ice Age!

    The Rains Came (1939)-In Ranchipur, India the faithless Lady Edwina Esketh (Myrna Loy) and her cruel husband Lord Esketh meet Major Rama Safti (Tyrone Power) a doctor and heir presumptive to the throne and Edwina renews her acquaintanceship with artist Tom Ransome (George Brent), a former lover. Bored she sets out to seduce the principled Safti as a distraction but finds herself falling in love. It’s high class soap opera with good performances until the seasonal rains come and then watch out! An earthquake hits during the heaviest downpour causing a dam to collapse followed by a cholera epidemic while the water keeps rising! Winner of the first Oscar given for special effects.

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    1. Love your choices! I've always loved The Day After Tomorrow even though a lot of people hated it. It was my go-to rainy day movie 10 years ago :)
      - Allie

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  7. Haha. Great choice with Cloudy with a Chance a Meatballs. I haven't seen that film for a while but I do remember really liking it. The title is even a forecast! Perfect!

    I like the sound of Indenity. My sorta thing.

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    1. I had to make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner on Thursday night, talk about it made me hungry haha!
      Identity is a good movie - probably not the best of its kind but I would definitely still recommend it :)
      - Allie

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  8. LOVE Identity. Just when you think you've got it figured out, it twists everything on its ear again. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs made me mad because I LOVED the book as a child SO MUCH and the movie was a complete betrayal of the book's tone and feel. I'm sure it's fine on its own, but I just couldn't forgive it.

    OH Chris Hemsworth as Thor in the rain.... pardon me, I think I need a moment...

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    1. I'm glad I got to watch it without knowing what would happen! My work colleagues told me about it, as well as Double Jeopardy, and once they ruined the twist in Double Jeopardy I stuck my fingers in my ears and yelled until they stopped!
      - Allie

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  9. I saw Identity and it is ok even though it is original in its concept. I also saw the last one and Thor is inventive and he is the God of Thunder. I have not seen the a meatball film:)

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    1. Yeah I enjoyed Identity, it wasn't the best movie of it's kind I've seen but I'd still recommend it to others :)
      - Allie

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  10. I haven't seen Identity but love the other two, especially for the theme. I didn't think of them when it came to this week. Great picks!

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  11. Ahah, I never thought of THOR but what an awesome pick! I'm actually crushing on Loki way more than Thor though, Hiddles rules :D

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    1. Ooh I can't argue with you there! Have you been watching The Night Manager?
      - Allie

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  12. Nice list! I haven't seen Identity in such a long time. Thanks for the reminder to watch it again.

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    1. It's a good one isn't it! I've recommended it to some family members after watching it myself :)
      - Allie

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