Thursday Movie Picks: Fish Out of Water Movies


Hello there, and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks, a weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves where you share three movies to fit the theme of the week each Thursday.

This week's topic, Fish Out of Water, was surprisingly easy for me. Chances are some of my picks won't fit the theme completely because, you know, like in math, if it's easy you're doing it wrong. But I don't really care, because I love this three films, so without further ado, here's my picks for the week:

Sleeper (1973)

Woody Allen is cryogenically frozen, and awakened 200 years in the future, in a world that is not like he would have expected, and finds himself, alone, in the middle of a rebellion. This is one of the earlier funny stuff Allen made, it has both slapstick humour and sophisticated satire, and it’s plenty of memorable moments – like when Allen dresses up as a robot.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Top cop Nicholas Angels is so good at his job that makes his fellow officers look like slackers by comparison and is transferred in a sleepy village, where nobody seem to care for the law, not even his new, witless partner, and he soon start suspecting a sinister conspiracy is afoot. The film has the perfect balance of splatter and British humour, features a wonderful Simon Pegg paired once again with Nick Frost. A suggestion? Watch it for the greater good!

Pretty Woman (1990)

Feisty, good-hearted hooker Vivian Ward is hired for a week by a wealthy, ruthless businessman, Edward Lewis, to serve as his escort at several business related social events. Needless to say, the relationship just doesn’t stay ‘just business’ for long. Yeah, I know, it’s a rom-com, and I don’t like rom-coms but this one is a quite funny, enjoyable, (cheesy) modern Cinderella story starring an adorable Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, that make one of the most attractive pairs in cinema. 

13 comments :

  1. Very true about math. I've only seen Pretty Woman, which was so long ago I don't remember it, but I've had Hot Fuzz in my Netflix queue forever. I really need to get around to watching that.

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    1. Yeah, you really need to watch it. It's simply amazing, and the best one of the Cornetto trilogy.

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  2. But sometimes math is easy and still right and yours worked out since all these fit perfectly. Sleeper is sort of scattershot, Woody wasn't fully in his groove yet, but has a lot of humor in it and his character surely was out of his comfort zone. I liked parts of Hot Fuzz but for me it devolved too much into absurdity as it moved along and by the end I'd lost my patience with it. Speaking of absurdity Pretty Woman is right up there but it's so charmingly played that you can forgive the ridiculousness of its premise. Roberts really puts her character over, though her refinement comes about with whiplash inducing speed.

    This theme was easy for me to come up with three as well, there's a wide range of them to choose from which helps:

    Blast from the Past (1999)-An absurd premise, a slightly nutty 60’s scientist and his pregnant homemaker wife (Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek, both ideal) lock themselves into a bomb shelter for 35 years under the false impression that nuclear war has been declared then sending their grown son out into a strange new world for supplies, is played with charming whimsy. Brendan Fraser uses his size and somewhat goofy personality to make son Adam believable as a big overgrown child in a man's body. He and Alicia Silverstone as Eve the woman who takes Adam under her wing have a nice vibe with her worldliness playing well off his innocence. A sweet, breezy film with the underlying message to respect each other and enjoy the world around you.

    My Cousin Vinny (1992)-Two young men are falsely accused of murder in the deep South, desperate they contact the only lawyer either knows, Vinnie the New York cousin of one of the boys who has finally passed the bar on his sixth try. Down he and his brassy fiancée come, hilarity ensues! Hard to say who is funnier Joe Pesci, the Oscar winning Marisa Tomei or the deadpan Fred Gwynne in his final performance as the judge whose patience is stretched to the limit.

    Time After Time (1979)-In the London of 1893 H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) plans to use his time machine to travel to the Utopian paradise he believes is the future. As he prepares to make the journey Jack the Ripper (David Warner), on the run from the police, hijacks the machine and travels to 70’s San Francisco. When the machine returns to Victorian England Wells uses it to follow him. Perplexed by the modern world H.G. enlists the help of Amy (Mary Steenburgen) a bank teller he meets to catch Jack before he can resume his killing spree. During the pursuit Wells falls for Amy, even as she has a hard time believing his wild story of time travel. A thriller with a fine mixture of humor and suspense, McDowell and Steenburgen fell in love while making this film and were married for a decade.

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    1. I haven't seen any of your picks, but I think I'll give Time After Time a try since I like Malcolm McDowell.

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  3. I was just thinking about todays topic and came up with Hot Fuzz as well :D This movie is so much fun!

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  4. I have to see Hot Fuzz yet and almost rented it...will get this soon enough. Sleeper is hilarious especially when he dresses like the robot. Pretty Woman is a film that is sweet Nd has that Pygmalion theme going on.

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    1. When Woody dresses like the robot is the highlight of the film in my opinion.

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  5. I loved Hot Fuzz, it was the first movie I've seen from the 'trilogy'. I'm not a big fan of Pretty Woman and have yet to watch Sleeper, it sounds funny.

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    1. Yes, Sleeper is funny. And one of my favourite Allen movies.

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  6. I thought about putting in Hot Fuzz as well. It's such a fun movie and perfect fit as well.

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