How was your weekend everyone? Hope it was a nice one. Well this past week ended up being a pretty busy one in terms of movie watching. I finished The White Queen on Tuesday and was so obsessed with the whole War of the Roses history, especially Richard III that I’ve re-watched some of the episodes again! I’ve also ordered three books on the much-maligned monarch and am currently reading Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time.
On Thursday I went to a screening of Steven Spielberg’s The BFG, which I thought was just ok. I never read the children’s book by Roald Dahl so I wasn’t all that enthused about it. It’s kind of slow going and I find the story to be more simplistic than some of Disney’s animated features, such as the recent Zootopia, that has a pretty compelling story.
On Friday and Saturday night, my hubby and I watched two recent releases we missed on the big screen: Eddie the Eagle and Midnight Special, respectively. Both are enjoyable, but the latter is especially impressive and I’d rate that as one of the best 2016 films so far. I really wish I had seen that on the big screen, but it was well worth the wait. Jeff Nichols is on a roll right now and I’m glad we have a talented filmmaker like him working in Hollywood right now. I was so impressed with his third film Mud, but I still need to see his first two films Shotgun Stories and Take Shelter (both starring his muse Michael Shannon). I shall have my review of Midnight Special later this week.
My hubby and I’ve also decided to restart our HULU subscription so we could watch BBC’s 8-part miniseries War & Peace. We’ve only managed to see one episode so far but we like it enough we’ll keep on watching. The mostly-British cast is excellent. I’ve always liked Lily James but it’s Paul Dano & James Norton in the first episode who’ve made an impression so far. Nice bonus to see my new crush Aneurin Barnard in a small role here too. No no, I haven’t abandoned Sam Riley completely, this young Welshman is just a nice distraction 😉
Speaking of which, I also started watching this British indie comedy Hunky Dory that reminds me a bit of Sing Street. I’m a big fan of Minnie Driver and she plays a drama teacher in the mid 70s, putting on an end-of-term version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Like Sam, Aneurin can also sing!! #BeStillMyHeart
Suffice to say I’ll try to catch up on more of Aneurin’s work. I’d probably spontaneously combust when I see him AND Sam together on screen in BBC’s SS-GB!! Having read the book, I knew they both will share a scene together, wahoo!
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FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
Not much this weekend as I spend time watching Copa America and Euro Cup as the only thing I saw was Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.
Oh I heard that’s a great documentary. Alex Gibney is a great documentary filmmaker.
Independence Day Resurgence, awful. The Shallows, quite good. Old stuff, Breakout with Charles Bronson and the Rocketeer.
Saw Eddie the Eagle earlier this year ad really liked it.
Eddie The Eagle was exuberantly fun!
I thoroughly agree with Richard about ‘The Shallows’. My kids and I had a great time with that one.
Somehow I knew you’d enjoy The Shallows Michael 😉 I might rent that one, I’ve heard good things about it.
I’m glad I skipped the screening then! I think the moment I saw Liam Hemsworth in the trailer I was like blech!! Oooh you rewatched The Rocketeer!! I loooove that movie!
I missed War and Peace, but I will be sure to catch up with it.
So far it’s good, the set pieces are lavish and beautiful!
I love the word lavish.
Ahah, me too! 🙂 It was filmed in Lithuania I believe and the interior of the palaces are so gorgeous! I can’t imagine reading Tolstoy’s massive book so I’ll settle w/ the series, ahah.
The series is probably quicker to get through than the book.
Oh for sure! It’s over one thousand pages! I tried reading Anna Karenina and practically gave up halfway through, I don’t think I’d even attempt War & Peace!
You really need to watch Take Shelter. I felt it was one of the best representations of mental illness I’ve seen.
And I’m old enough to remember the real Eddie the Eagle taking part in the winter Olympics! I remember how much warmth he inspired and the whole of the UK were so behind him.
Hi Mikey! Yeah I’ll check out Take Shelter at some point. It sounds like a heartbreaking story.
Oh that’s cool about the real life Eddie! I thought Taron gave a good performance, such a different role from the one he did in Kingsman.
Can’t wait to see your review of Midnight Special soon, I loved it, even if I am a little biased when it comes to anything with Adam Driver in 😉
I finally watched Eye in the Sky this weekend, it was brilliant. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time!
– Allie
Ha..ha.. I forgot about your crush on Adam Driver! He’s good here playing a Snowden type NSA guy w/ the glasses 🙂 Eye in The Sky is a good movie, I saw that a while ago and made an impression. I so miss Alan Rickman!
I rewatched the original ‘Independence Day’, but skipped out on it ‘Resurgence’ sequel (though my son liked it). Rewatched ‘Life of Pi’ for our upcoming duo post this month, and as mentioned, ‘The Shallows’. I need to see ‘Midnight Special’ and ‘Eddie the Eagle’ now. Thanks, Ruth. 🙂
Hi Michael! ID4 is massively watchable indeed. The sequel just sounds meh, even though I still might rent it for Jeff Goldblum 🙂 Oh cool, I look forward to your Life of Pi post. Midnight Special is a must-see, and I have a feeling you’d love it.
Love this series
You’re referring to War & Peace? Glad you love it!
Yes I am
I can’t wait to watch the rest of the series. Luckily there’s only one season so far.
Jeff Nichols, Michael Shannon and Midnight Special. I loved Mud and hear nothing but great things about Midnight Special. It’s on my list to watch within the next couple weeks. So many movies to catch up on! I watched Being Jane, your P & & Zombie movie, and The Road.
If you love MUD you’ll love Midnight Special too, Cindy. What do you think of PPZ? I think it’s a hoot and I can watch Col Darcy & Elizabeth fight for days on end 😛
Sorry, dear friend, I didn’t appreciate it. I think I’m too old for a crazy mash like that. However, I do think the actor who played Darcy, the one you have a crush on, was competent. That’s the best I can do 😉
Ahah, that’s ok. I know it’s not for everyone. I probably won’t have enjoyed it THAT much if it weren’t for Sam Riley. I think he made the best of that role, which could’ve been really silly. The movie introduced me to such an amazing talent and I’ll always be grateful for it 😀
You are a devoted fan. Maybe Sam will comment on your blog like that French guy you were gaga over last year 😉
I seem to be devoted to the underrated ones. Ahah, I doubt that’ll happen. Sam is not on social media, he’s too busy taking care of his 2-year-old son 😀
I wanted to see Midnight Special but missed it in the theater, I think Nichols is getting his feet wet before jumping into making big budget movies. I know he’s being courted many times by big studios for their tent pole pictures but glad he’s sticking to smaller films. Many young filmmakers tends to make a mistake of doing big movie right away without lots of experience and failed miserably.
I was busy with work over the weekend so I didn’t go see anything at the theaters, thought of seeing ID4 Resurgence yesterday but decided to skip it after so many bad reviews. I just watched The Winter Soldier again, haven’t seen it a while and I think it’s still my favorite Captain America film. Then I started watching Narcos on Netflix, another excellent show!
Hi Ted! Yeah I’m so bummed I missed Midnight Special screening, and it took a long time to be available to rent. It’s really good! I’m glad Nichols stay in indie films as he’s an excellent writer/director. I mean look at Duncan Jones and whoever that guy was that did Fantastic Four, it’s rare to see an indie filmmaker making a good jump to Hollywood.
I LOVE Winter Soldier! I heard Narcos is great, but for me I can’t resist the period dramas 😉
I think most young filmmakers don’t understand is that once they make a jump into big budget films, they won’t have total control over script or even their vision as a director, there will be lots of cooks in the kitchen. Only few directors gets total control of their movies, Nolan, Spielberg, Cameron, Ang Lee, Scorsese and Fincher are the elites.
I thought Civil War was better than The Winter Soldier but after watching it again, I think Winter Soldier has a much higher stake and complete story, while Civil War was just a revenge story and the stake wasn’t that high, everyone seems to be okay after the film’s over.
I remember you liked Sicario so I think you’ll enjoy Narcos, there’s on 10 episodes for season 1.
Exactly right, only the elites can get some kind of control in a big budget films. I think the Russos might get a bit more leeway now from Marvel as they’ve proven their chops. Yeah I think Winter Soldier has a slight edge over Civil War because it was more of a more complete story like you said and I love the espionage angle.
I might get into Narcos at some point, but I think I’ll watch Mr Robot after I’m done w/ War & Peace.
Hi Ruth!! The early reviews for BFG have not been too kind. Same with Tarzan and Free State of Jones. I was wary of FSJ, but saw it over the weekend and enjoyed it. My 3 year is in love with Zootopia. She won’t stop watching it, which means I end up watching it. So as soon as the 3 year old goes to sleep and I get the tv back I’ll give White Queen a go, since you gave it such a glowing review.
Hello Mariah, always good seeing you stop by. Well I don’t think BFG was bad but it’s kinda boring for me, maybe kids would enjoy it more. I haven’t read any review of Tarzan, but I hope it’ll be more entertaining than BFG. Zootopia is soooo good! I think you’ll enjoy it when you get to it, the story is actually pretty deep for an animated feature.
TWQ is quite addictive but then again I love British monarch movies and the War of the Roses is immensely fascinating. Plenty of eye candy too, the three York boys are gorgeous! But I’m partial to Richard thanks to Aneurin’s portrayal.
Seems you were on a roll this weekend! I watched some of The Originals (let’s not lie – a lot), and I watched Absentia again and The Witch (which I didn’t think was as good as everyone claims it is).
Yeah, I’m surprised too, but glad I get to catch up on some good movies I’ve missed. He..he.. I think I know why you like The Originals 😉 I understand though, as right now I’m trying to get my hands on everything Aneurin’s been in!
I haven’t gotten a chance to watch War and Peace yet, but I’m curious because I love Paul Dano so much.
Oh if you love Paul Dano you must watch War & Peace! Nice to see an American actor amongst the Brits and he’s one of the leads.
I’ve been so busy I feel tired just reading your post. And also trying to remember what I’ve been watching. Did I even find time to watch anything?
Summer can get pretty busy indeed! That’s why I’m glad I was able to catch up on a bunch of stuff this past weekend.
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