Get a Job (2016)

I don't know how Get a Job ended up on my watchlist —I'm pretty sure though it's because I read a positive review of it— but I know that it's been there for too long so I finally decided to give it a chance. 

The film follows Will Davis (Miles Teller), an idealist young man who has just graduated from college. He thinks he has a job lined up after working his ass off as a summer intern but the firm downsize and he needs to find another job. But it's not easy as the work market is saturated with applications and when he returns to his father (Bryan Cranston) for money, he finds out that his father has lost his job and he too is struggling to find a new one. 

A Street Cat Named Bob (2016)

I really wanted to see A Street Cat Named Bob when it came out, but I also wanted to read the novel book first so I skipped it. It's been two years and I still haven't bought the book and I decided to watch the film anyway. 

As you may know, the film tells the true story of James Bowen (Luke Treadaway), a homeless drug addict busking on the streets of London. After his OD, he is set up in a rundown apartment block by a social worker (Joanne Froggatt). There, he finds a stray ginger cat who he names Bob and the two soon become inseparable as they go busking together and become somewhat of a London legend. 

Thursday Movie Picks: Television Edition: Adapted from a Non-English Series

November too has come to an end which means it's time for another Television Edition for Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks. This month we have to pick series that are remakes of non-English language series. Without further ado, here are my picks

Juliet, Naked (2018)

I love Ethan Hawke —I'm pissed at him for what he said about comic book movies though— and because of it, I added Juliet, Naked on my watchlist without even knowing what it was about. And if it wasn't for Big Screen Small Words who picked it for a Thursday Movie Picks a couple of weeks ago, I probably would have never watch it.

Anyways, the film is set in England and follows Annie (Rose Byrne), a going on 40 woman who is stuck in a long-term relationship with Duncan (Chris O'Dowd), a college teacher who is obsessed with American rocker Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke). One day, someone mails Duncan an album of acoustic demos of Tucker's hit album, he and Annie listen to it separately, they have an argument over its quality, Annie writes a negative review on Duncan's website and she gets an email reply from Crowe himself. He agrees with her, and they hit off real quick. 

Pretty in Pink (1986)

The day after watching a heavy film —yesterday's was Papillon— I always feel like watching something light. This time I went with something cheesy too, John Hudges's Pretty in Pink, a teen movie I've been meaning to see since I saw and loved The Breakfast Club. Yes, I know Hudges did not direct this but he still wrote it. 

Anyways, this film follows Andie (Molly Ringwald), a beautiful and smart high school senior who lives with her unemployed and drinking father (Harry Dean Stanton). She only has two real friends one of whom is a guy called Duckie (Jon Cryer) who has a crush on her since the dawn of times and is completely devoted to her. She falls for a rich kid, Blane (Andrew McCarthy), who has mutual feelings, but both Duckie and Blade's friend, Steff (James Spader), disapprove of their relationship. 

Papillon (1973)

Last December I finally bought and read Henri Charrière's autobiography Papillon. I wasn't crazy about it at first and I only kept reading because it was damn expensive and I didn't want to waste money like that. Eventually, it grew on me and I ended up loving it. So when I learnt there was a movie based on it, starring no less than Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, I knew I had to watch it. I've been putting it off ever since because of its length. I wouldn't have missed much if I kept putting it off as Franklin J. Schaffner's Papillon isn't that memorable. 

The film follows Henri Charrière (Steve McQueen), also known as Papillon, who, wrongly convicted of murdering a pimp, is sentenced to life and imprisoned in the penal colony in French Guyana. On his voyage there, he meets Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman), a forger who sold fake government bonds. Degas has enemies, Papillon vows to protect him and, over the years, with Degas's help, he attempts to escape many times, despite solitary confinement being the punishment.

The Hate U Give (2018)

I've read 59 books so far this year and Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give easily is the most powerful and emotional of the bunch, so when I learnt that a movie based on it would release this year, I was very excited. Still, I tried to keep my expectations low as adaptations of books I love always suck. Well, this one doesn't. 

The Hate U Give follows Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg), a 16-year-old black girl constantly switching between two worlds: Garden Heights, the poor, mostly black, neighbourhood where she was born, raised and lives, and Williamson Prep, the rich, mostly white, prep school she attends. Her life changes when she witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil (Algee Smith), at the hand of a white police officer.

The Ledge (2011)

I must be retarded or something because I wanted to watch The Switch, yep, the romantic comedy starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, but I ended up watching The Ledge, a thriller starring three very bangable actors instead. Or perhaps it's because Patrick Wilson is in both and the short titles confused me. 

Either way, the film is about two men who intersect each other on the ledge of a skyscraper: one man, Gavin (Charlie Hunnam), is about to jump, the other man, Hollis (Terrence Howard), is the detective trying to talk him out of it. At first, it looks like a regular suicide attempt but it quickly relieves to be way more complex than that as Gavin starts telling his story and explains to Hollis why he has no other choice than to jump. 

Friends with Money (2006)

Just like yesterday's film, Friends with Money too was mentioned by Steven from Surrender to the Void earlier this year for the meltdowns week of the Thursday Movie Picks series. And just like yesterday's film, it sounded interesting, specifically because of Frances McDormand's meltdown scene, and I decided to check it out. 

The film follows a group of four girlfriends: three of them, Franny (Joan Cusack), Christine (Catherine Keener) and Jane (Frances McDormand) are wealthy and married; the fourth, Olivia (Jennifer Aniston), is a single former teacher who now works as a maid. While Franny, Christine and Jane find themselves in various stages of marriage —Franny is very happy with her husband Matt (Greg Germann), Christine keeps fighting with her husband David (Jason Isaacs) over the silliest things and Jane is constantly angry as she's afraid her husband Aaron (Simon McBurney) may be gay—, Olivia struggles to find a good man. 

Thursday Movie Picks: Non-Linear Timelines

Movies with a non-linear narrative are my favourite kind of movies. These are the movies that challenge me the most and keep me hooked till the very last moment. This is this week's theme for Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks, and since Dell over Dell on Movies is yet again hosting the Girl Week blogathon, and I probably won't have any time to write an actual post —I'm so busy lately it's a miracle I managed to watch a film every day and write about it— I'm going girl-theme with three films starring ladies.

Me, Myself & Irene (2000)

We, the people doing the Thursday Movie Picks series, had a meltdowns week earlier this year and Steven from Surrender to the Void picked Me, Myself & Irene. It sounded like a fun Jim Carrey movie so I finally checked it out. 

The film is about Charlie Baileygates (Jim Carrey), a Rhode Island State Police trooper whose life started falling into pieces on his wedding day when his wife (Traylor Howard) started cheating on him and eventually gave birth to three African-American kids. When she leaves him, Charlie takes upon the task to raise the triples. He becomes a loving and loved father but everyone else mistreats him and takes advantage of him. One day he snaps, his other rude and violent personality, Hank, takes over and, diagnosed with split personality disorder, he's assigned to escort a woman, Irene (Renée Zellweger) back to New York and must protect her from her corrupt ex-boyfriend (Daniel Greene). 

The Terminal (2004)

Many years ago, when the blog wasn't even a remote idea, I was on a Tom Hanks watching spree. I don't know why, but I wanted to watch all of his movies. The Terminal I kept avoiding because I thought it was about someone terminally ill —no, I didn't read plots back then either. Today, after seeing it was from Spielberg, I decided to check it out. And quite frankly, I'm shocked Spielberg made such a film as it is so different. In a good way. 

The film is about Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), a man from the fictional Eastern European nation of Krakozhia who becomes stuck in the terminal of New York's JFK Airport as his country has been taken over in a coup, the US does not recognise the new nation and the borders of Krakozhia are closed. Forced to stay in the International Transit section until the war cools down, Viktor makes the airport his home and develops friendships with the people who work there.

Monster (2003)

I've heard people mention and praise Charlize Theron's performance in Monster a lot of times since I started blogging, so, after putting it off for ages, I finally watched it. 

The film tells the true story of Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron), a Daytona Beach prostitute who was convicted and eventually executed for killing six men. The story begins in 1989 when she meets a young girl, Selby (Christina Ricci), and the two eventually fall in love. One night, things get pretty rough with a John, Aileen kills him to prevent him from raping her and runs away with his money, his car and Selby. She decides to quit hooking and straighten up, find a real job, but she keeps failing at every turn so she goes back out on the street and starts murdering her clients.

Eastern Promises (2007)

A few weeks back, the theme for Thursday Movie Picks —a series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves— was gangsters and David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises was one of the most popular titles. Since I like Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen (and his full-frontal nudity), I checked it out.

The film revolves around the London Russian mafia and centres around the death of Tatiana (Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse), a fourteen-year-old girl who died in childbirth. Midwife Anna (Naomi Watts) finds her diary and decides to find the girl's family so that the newborn can live with them. She asks her Russian uncle (Jerzy Skolimowski) to translate the diary for her; in the meantime, she follows the trail of a business card found in the diary, and she winds up at a Russian restaurant owned by Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl) who promises to help her to translate the diary from Russian to English. Little does she knows Semyon is the mob's leader and his family is involved in Tatiana's death. 

Pi (1998)

Darren Aronofsky's Pi popped out while I was searching for films to watch for the 31 Days of Horror challenge. I decided I'd watch it as I've been meaning to check out more of Aronofsky's work. I soon realised it was not a horror but I still kept watching as I told myself I would post the review in the future and here it is, weeks later.

The film follows Max Cohen (Sean Gullette), a brilliant but paranoid mathematician and computer genius who seeks mathematical patterns in everything. He is convinced everything in nature can be explained through mathematics and that, given the correct mathematical formula, you can predict an understand everything, and so he spends every second of his time to find it.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

Perhaps it's because of Johnny Depp, J.K. Rowling feeding us bullshit all the time, or both, but I didn't care that much about Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. I didn't even bother watching the trailer. I went to see it anyway because I've seen all the Harry Potter movies and Steve McQueen's Widows was not an option in my theater.

Following the events of its predecessor, the film begins with the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) escaping from custody with the aid of his followers, most of which are not aware of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over everyone, magical and non-magical beings. In an effort to stop Grindelwald, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). 

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

If it wasn't for Film Twitter, I would have never heard of Crazy Rich Asians as it got absolutely no marketing in my country —they even changed the title into Crazy & Rich. I read only good things about it so I had pretty high expectations and unfortunately, it didn't live up to the hype. It's not a terrible film, don't get me wrong, but it's just another clichéd romantic comedy.

The film follows Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), an American-born Chinese economics professor, who she travels to Singapore with her boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding) to attend his best friend's (Chris Pang) wedding only to learn that Nick comes from one of Asia's most wealthy and prominent families. Once in Singapore, Rachel becomes the target of jealous socialities and Nick's disapproving mother (Michelle Yeoh). 

A Wrinkle in Time (2018)

I have a crush on Chris Pine since he did that movie with Linsday Lohan —I don't remember the title, it was something about luck, I think— so of course I wanted to see A Wrinkle in Time when it hit theatres. But then the bad, really bad reviews came and I skipped it. And I'm glad because I finally gave it a chance and it was a huge waste of time. 

The film follows Meg Murry (Storm Reid), her younger brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and her classmate Calvin (Levi Miller) as they join three magical beigns —Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey)— to travel across the universe to search for her father (Chris Pine) who disappeared four years earlier.

Thursday Movie Picks: Museum

A museum is a place where one should lose one's head, once said Italian architect Renzo Piano. Well, that's kinda what happens in movies, especially when things start moving at night, or you see a precious statue, or you find yourself caught up in a something way bigger than yourself. Just in case you haven't figured it out yet, museum is this week's theme for Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks. I basically told you my picks already, but if you want to know more about them, keep reading :)

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

I wouldn't call myself a Spike Lee fan as I've only seen three of his films, one of which —Oldboy— I hated, but nonetheless I was very excited about BlacKkKlansman as it looked interesting and I was intrigued by the cast. 

Based on the memoir Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth, the film tells the story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first African American police officer in the Colorado Springs Police Department who in the 1970s successfully managed to infiltrate the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan with the help of his Jewish colleague, Detective Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), who he convinced to go undercover as a white supremacist.

Obvious Child (2014)

It was either December 2014 or January 2015 when I stumbled upon a BuzzFeed "article" about movies you probably missed in 2014 but are definitely worth watching; Obvious Child was one of those and, captivated by the description, I decided to watch it. The problem is that the movie was unfindable. No Italian release and it was nowhere to be found on the internet, so I forgot about it. Almost four years later, I finally found the film and, although Gaby Hoffmann being in it was the only thing I remembered about it, I watched it. 

The film follows Donna Stern (Jenny Slate), a 28-year-old part-time stand-up comedian and part-time bookstore employee who lives in New York City. After her boyfriend (Paul Briganti) dumps her for one of her friends, and she loses her job in the bookstore, she has a one-night stand with Max (Jake Lacy), and gets pregnant. When she finds out, she decides to have an abortion. There's a problem though, Max is the sweetest guy Donna has ever met and he wants more than just a one-night stand. 

Outlaw King (2018)

I was pretty excited about Outlaw King, so much so that I even marked the day on my calendar to make sure I'd remember. Then a lot of shit happened and, after a long day, I finally managed to watch it on Saturday evening. Right now, I can't think of a bigger waste of time than this movie as it was outrageously boring and the scene was the biggest disappointment of 2018. 

Netflix's original tells the true story of Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine), the 14th-century Scottish king who, after being declared outlaw by the English Empire, rose an army of Scottish men in rebellion against the tyrannical King Edward I of England (Stephen Dillane) and his son, the Prince of Wales (Billy Howle). 

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)

The Hotel Transylvania movies probably are, with The Meyerowitz Stories, the only Adam Sandler movies I enjoyed. They pale in comparison with Pixar's movies, but they are nice animated flicks. But nice is not enough for me so I didn't really care about Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation when it was in cinemas. And I shouldn't have cared about it now either as it is a significant step back compared to the other two of the series. 

This third instalment follows Dracula (Adam Sandler) as he is depressed because of the lack of a love life. In other to bring back his joy, his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) arranges for her father and the whole monster family to go on a monster cruise. As soon as they board, Dracula falls for the captain of the ship, Ericka (Kathryn Hahn), unaware that she is a Van Helsing and that she has something planned for him. 

Captain Fantastic (2016)

I've been meaning to watch Captain Fantastic for the longest time because of Viggo Mortensen and his praised performance and yet I kept putting it off to the point that I forgot about it. Thank god Margaret exists, or else I probably would have never seen this gem. 

Set in the Pacific Northwest forests, the film follows Ben (Viggo Mortensen), a father of six who has decided to raise his kids in the wilderness with his wife, Leslie (Trin Miller). When Leslie commits suicide after being hospitalized for bipolar disorder, Ben and the kids decide to travel to the funeral to fulfil her will of being cremated, and they are forced to face modern society.

Best F(r)iends: Volume 1 (2017)

As you might know, I went from hating Tommy Wiseau's The Room to loving it. I also devoured Greg Sestero's book The Disaster Artists —and Franco's movie as well, but that's completely unrelated. So when I heard of Best F(r)iends: Volume 1, the first Wiseau-Sestero project in 15 years, I knew I would end up watching it. 

The film follows Jon (Greg Sestero), a drifter who stumbles upon Harvey (Tommy Wiseau), a quirky mortician. Harvey gives him a job and soon an unlikely partnership and friendship forms between the two men. Little does Harvey know that Jon is going to betray him.

Thursday Movie Picks: Political Comedy

My neck has been hurting like crazy since yesterday morning and now I also have stomach ache, nausea and fever. In other words, I feel like shit which is great since the theme for Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks this week is political comedies. Without further ado, here are my picks:

What's for Dinner, Mom? (2016)

I don't remember how I stumbled upon What's for Dinner, Mom? (Japanese: ママ、ごはんまだ？ Mama, gohan mada?) but, unless it was some twisted horror movie, I was pretty sure it was about food and since I'm obsessed with food I decided to watch it.

The film tells the story of two sisters, Tae (Haruka Kinami) and Yo Hitoto (Izumi Fujimoto), and their mother, Kazue (Michiko Kawai). When Tae and Yo return to their old family house, Tae comes across a box containing letters and recipes of her mother who died twenty years ago. This brings back memories of how their teenage days were brightened by her mother's efforts to keep memories of their Taiwanese father alive through cooking them Taiwanese food.

The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018)

I have a girl crush on Mila Kunis since always so of course I decided to watch The Spy Who Dumped Me, no matter how stupid and terrible the movie sounded/seemed from the trailer. 

The film follows two thirty-year-old friends living in Los Angeles, Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon). When Drew (Justin Theroux), the guy who dumped Audrey with a text, turns out to be a spy and shows up at their apartment with deadly assassins on his tail and ends up dead, Audrey and Morgan becomes targets and must go on the run across Europe from assassins and a suspicious but charming British agent (Sam Heughan) to save their lives and the world, eventually.

Catch-22 (1970)

I rarely decide to read a book because of its plot  —most of the time, I don't even know the plot—; it's because it was suggested by someone I know and trust, it was on a books you must read before you die kind of list, or I liked the cover —yes, I'm that shallow. The second applied to Joseph Heller's Catch-22 and when I read the back cover and learnt it was a war novel I had the impulse to return it to the library without reading it. I gave it a shot anyway and I loved it. Then, of course, I did what I always do, I searched the internet for a movie based on the novel and I stumbled upon Mike Nichols's Catch-22.

It follows Captain Yossarian (Alan Arkin), a bombardier in World War II who desperately tries to be certified insane so he can stop flying missions and go home. In the process of doing this, he watches most of his friends die.

The Judge (2014)

I really wanted to see The Judge when it came out because of its cast, but I missed it when it was in theatres and then I kept putting it off because of its running time. Eventually, I even forgot what the film was about so I kept putting it off, mainly because I was afraid it'd be a long, boring courtroom drama, which is crazy since I love courtroom dramas. 

The film follows Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.), a successful and unethical defence attorney in Chicago. When his brother Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio) calls to let him know that their mother has passed away, Hank returns to his hometown in Indiana and soon ends up being the lawyer to his estranged father (Robert Duvall), the town's judge, who is suspected of murder. 

Incredibles 2 (2018)

I'm one of those people who completely snubbed The Incredibles when it came out —mainly because I was 10, I had a bigger brother and therefore I had no power over which film to see at the movies— and I kept avoiding it for the following years because it just didn't appeal me —frankly, I thought it was a kids movie. Then, about a year ago, I finally watched it, and I loved it which made me very excited for the sequel. I guess it's karma hitting me back for waiting so long to see the original that I got to see Incredibles 2 only now. That or the fact that I live in a shitty country. 

Anyways, the film follows the Parr family who once again has to hang up their suits as supers have been outlawed because of the collateral damage of their heroics. Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) and Elastigirl (voiced by Holly Hunter) are soon approached by tycoon Winston Deavor (voiced by Bob Odenkirk) who wants to restore superheros' image, and offers Elatigirl a job. She accepts and, when a new supervillain, Screenslaver, wreaks havoc with his mind control abilities, she has to face this new threat. Meanwhile, Mr. Incredible is left to take care of the kids.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)

Mamma Mia! holds a special place in my heart as it is the first and only movie I've seen on the big screen alone with my mom. It's also my favourite musical film because of how fun and entertaining it is each time I watch it. So of course, I was excited about Mammia Mia! Here We Go Again, an unnecessary sequel which, with all its flaws, managed to steal my heart. 

Set five years after the events of the first film, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again follows Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) as she is preparing for the grand reopening of the Hotel Bella Donna. The film also takes us back to 1979, when Donna (Lily James), a young, independent woman, embarked on her journey, from her arrival to the Greek island of Kalokairi to meeting Sophie's three possible fathers, Harry Bright (Hugh Skinner), Bill Anderson (Josh Dylan), and Sam Carmicheal (Jeremy Irvine). 

Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018)

Last April I finally watched Sicario and I loved it. It was not flawless but it had a compelling story, interesting leading character, great acting, and suspenseful and thrilling action. I wish I could say the same about Sicario: Day of the Soldado, a sequel that falls far behind its predecessor. 

It's been a while since the events of the first film and now Mexican drug cartels are smuggling suicide bombers across the border into the United States. CIA agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) is tasked to deal with the situations whatever it takes, even if that means starting a war between the cartels, and he brings in vengeful hitman Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro) to help him.

On My Skin (2018)

I was talking with my mother the other day and that's when I found out about Alessio Cremonini's On My Skin (Italian: Sulla mia pelle), one of the first Italian movies produced by Netflix. That, however, is not the reason it caught my attention. Its subject is, it being the infamous case of Stefano Cucchi.

Just in case you are not familiar with it, on the night of October 15 2009, Stefano Cucchi (Alessandro Borghi), a 31-year-old ex-junkie, is arrested after being found in possession of some packs of hashish and 2 grams of cocaine. He is taken into custody by the Carabinieri and a week later he dies of wounds. 

Thursday Movie Picks: Gangsters

As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster, says Ray Liotta's Henry Hill in Goodfellas, one of the greatest gangster movies ever made. But I'm not going to pick it for Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks, nor I'm going to pick any other of those movies that pop into your head when you think of this theme. Without further ado (I have to go visit graves because that's what we do here in Italy on November 1st, which I find pointless but whatever) I leave you with my picks and their gangster quotes.