Blind Spot Series 2016

The Blind Spot Series is a yearly film event hosted by Ryan of The Matinee. For my previous blind spot choices, see 2014, 2015.

I'd like to think that my choices for the series varied for the past two years. However, as I'm coming to a conclusion to this year's blind spot list, I made an unfortunate discovery: I didn't have fun with my choices compared to the first year. Some of the films were daunting to watch, or I was underwhelmed with my expectations. I may have also possibly set my goals a bit too high this year, and have suffered complete burn outs for weeks at a time, and that might have played a role in viewing the film of the month. I was planning to go with foreign cinema for 2016, but seeing the results of this year, I might take a route similar to 2014 but instead of picking randomly, all my choices are films in the 70's. Here is my list for the upcoming blind spot series. 

Harold and Maude (1971)
The French Connection (1971)
Solaris (1972)
A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
Jaws (1975)
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
All the Presidents Men (1976)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Alien (1979)

Have you watched any of these films? What are your thoughts about it? 

Trailers: The Huntsman, Zoolander 2, How to Be Single, Gods of Egypt


So this is happening. I think I'm one of the few who did enjoy Snow White and the Huntsman, but I didn't really expect a sequel from it. This time, Snow White's out of the picture (though I'm hoping there's some reference here to what she's been up to), focusing more on Hemsworth as the titular Huntsman. I'm glad Charlize Theron is back; she was a bit of a highlight in the first movie. Joining them are Emily Blunt (who is in so many movies lately, I love it!) and Jessica Chastain. Hopefully this would be enjoyable, a popcorn movie type of flick. 

Trailer: Moonwalkers


This basically flew to my radar because it has the words 'Rupert Grint' in it. Unlike his fellow Potter co-stars whose fame has skyrocketed, Grint seems to be keeping himself on the down low. I haven't seen anything of his recently, and while this doesn't look promising, I'm hoping it'll at least be fun to watch.  

Blind Spot: The Sound of Music

Two things have happened since I've watched The Sound of Music. First, is that the songs have been heavily playing over and over again in my mind. Second, is that I have been humming them for those days. The Sound of Music has been one of those 'must-see' films for ages; the songs have been heavily referenced that it sometimes borders on irksome (especially when not in a chipper mood). The city of Salzburg still holds a torch for the film, including tidbits of the shooting location when giving tours (or at least the one I was in). Despite watching this at a later age and knowing most of the songs, I don't really know much about the plot of the film. The experience of watching a classic was still intact; I think it's safe to say that it's a timeless piece.

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies about Music/Making Music/Musicians

This week’s Thursday Movie Picks will tackle movies about music/making music/musicians. These however, can’t be biopics or focus on real life musicians. I was hoping to use a hidden gem this week but it defies one of the rules so I’ll go with my recent favorites instead.

Spectre

If Daniel Craig's planning to end his run as James Bond, this is a great movie to end it with, no strings attached. Set after the death of M (Judi Dench), Bond was given a task to locate a man and kill him. The opening sequence leads to Bond's hunt for the man, eventually masking the organization that has been behind multiple terrorist attacks. It doesn't help that the man in charge has a link to Bond's past. Besides that, MI6 has also been dealing with a new head of international security whose mission is to announce the Double 0 program obsolete and shut it down.

Thursday Movie Picks: Secret Agents/Spies

Happy Thursday everyone! One more day until the weekend; I'm hoping to catch Spectre this weekend, keeping my fingers crossed! This week's theme is quite timely with the film's release - secret agents or spies! Here are my picks this week:

Trailer: Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong


A few days ago I stumbled into this movie through reading Ruth's interview with the director. I'm always on a lookout for films set in Hong Kong (besides the action-packed ones), so I'm definitely going to watch this for that. As for the movie itself, I don't want to expect much, but who knows maybe I'll end up liking it. I haven't seen much of Chung and Greenberg's works, but hopefully their off-screen partnership shines through their movie.