FTF: Five Favorite Films about Weddings

Happy Friday! It’s been yonks since I fired up this bad boy. Five things Friday started way back (I think probably 2013), and I’ve done a few here and there. I’d like to do some more in the future – I love lists so much, and let’s face it, they are so easy to put together! Today’s feature is about the age old institutional – tying the knot. There are so many movies focusing on weddings that it should probably be an entire genre on its’ own. There are so many! I’ve seen a ton, but I’ve never hidden the fact that I am able to enjoy the most gory and the most fluffy films equally as much:)

Let me know about your favorite in the comments section!

 

5: Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement

Number 5 on this list was hotly contested, let me tell you. I ended up choosing The Royal Engagement because I’m such a huge fan of the Princess Diaries. It deviated quite badly from the books, but it managed to be pretty good. Anne Hathaway, Chris Pine and Julie Andrews are a power team in TRE, and the message is a bit lame but also strong – don’t marry for the wrong reasons (something that wasn’t already obvious), and what might seem as the best choice for you probably isn’t what you really want.

4: Wedding Crashers

Can this film make the list? It isn’t about weddings in the way the other films here are about weddings, but it definitely deals with them. This movie is the top point of silly and has some hilarious moments. It is one of the few films where combining Vince Vaughn and Isla Fischer works, and I wouldn’t have thought it possible to combine two such horribly annoying people and get a proper result. The film also stars Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Christopher Walken, and those three alone can probably carry any film without too much effort.

3: 27 Dresses (2008)

I actually smashed this movie in the review here. I do enjoy it though, and am frequently worried that I first have to be a bridesmaid 27 times before I get to put on a white dress. Anway, remember that Tinder post I put up? Still getting feedback from it which is great! Back to why I chose this as a favourite – it is about a girl that loves weddings and finds that her partner isn’t what she always expected her spouse to end up as.

2: Runaway Bride (1999)

EEK! I love this movie. The only movie about weddings that could possibly be even more favoured than Runaway Bride is the one listed below. Julia Roberts has always been my girl crush. She’s so beautiful and smiley and talented. I loved Maggie Carpenter’s spirit and love for family and independence. Her matching with Richard Gere always results in chemistry and us wondering why they never made babies together. This film is all about identity and finding yourself before you end up with a partner – quite ahead of its’ time!

1: The Princess Bride (1987)

❤ Is there more to say? This film is everything – Buttercup and Westley and their escape and love story ❤

Honorable mentions:

Mamma Mia (2008)

When asked whether Pierce Brosnan can sing I would immediately think that he’s placed shortly under Rebecca Black for artistic capabilities. However, that didn’t stop him or Colin Firth going at it. This movie is definitely not for everyone. It is firstly a musical. Some of Abba’s most iconic songs get somewhat butchered (okay, a lot), and I’m sure I saw this listed as one of the films that make most heterosexual males feel suicidal. However, if you are game for watching Meryl Streep clearly having the time of her life, pondering why exactly Pierce Brosnan has such piercing blue eyes (he) and just want to watch people dancing and singing about love, this film is definitely something you can watch.

The Five-Year engagement (2012)

I do remember this – it is Emily Blunt and Jason Segel and they are engaged for ages and end up wondering if it is worth it. I actually think long engagements are silly – its’ that thing if the guy is committed you don’t need to worry and I assure you, most modern relationships have enough things going on without having to make it seem more official. This movie didn’t suck at all, and although I can barely remember it, I think I enjoyed it at the time.

Bride Wars (2013)

Despite this film rather pissing me off every time I watch it, I always end up watching it quite often. It is the most stereotypical of the lot, and perpetuates the notion that women turn into Godzillas the moment they get engaged. Just as a fact: the majority of brides I’ve worked with have been friendly and accommodating and calm, so it is once again a case where a few psychos make the entire bunch seem awful. It is also quite below Anne Hathaway to be degraded into the boring girl role – she’s immensely talented and deserves more. But like I said, I end up watching at least once a year for some strange reason, so I obviously don’t hate it that much.

Made of Honour (2008)

I‘d like to watch this again sometime, but I do remember Patrick Dempsey and surprisingly Michelle Monaghan – why did I think it was Selma Blair?? I see this film holds a 14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but we all know the raters on there are really just haters. Made of Honor is so not Oscar material, but it was fun at the time!

The Big Wedding (2013)

This cast is impressive AF – De Niro, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon and Robin Williams are joined by a younger cast composed of Amanda Seyfried and Topher Grace. Okay, Katherine Heigl too, and I suspect that reviewers rate her badly on purpose. This movie is not that bad, but it can be seen as a bit boring though.

Father of the Bride (1991)

LOVEEEE. Need to watch again to properly remember and review.

Dishonorable mentions:

Monster-in-law (2005)

One of J-Lo’s better attempts at comedy, though without a doubt still rather low on the list of funny things.

The Wedding Planner (2001)

Read my review here. It is such a stupid film man. I see JLo is quite frequent on this part of the list.

Bridesmaids (2011)

Hmmm. Everyone LOVES this, though I don’t. I need to watch again to make sure this hate is accurate. It is a vulgar film and humour at its worst – just eugh.

Sex and the City – the Movie (2008)

I never saw the show and can tell you jack shit about it. It was before my generation, and the one episode I tested out never caught. I did see the movie though, and it raises a few eyebrows in my head – this couple clearly never heard anything the other said.

Movies I haven’t seen yet:

Big Fat Greek Wedding

The Corpse’s Bride

My Best Friend’s wedding

The Wedding Singer

Well, there you have it. This post turned out way bigger than I thought, and I hoped you had as much fun as I did! Let me know what you thought in the comments below 🙂

December 9, 2016December 2, 2016 by Natasha Categories: 2016, Five Things Friday, Movies, movies, UncategorizedTags: 27 Dresses, Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway, Ben Barnes, Bride Wars, bridesmaids, Colin Firth, Cynthia Nixon, Diane Keaton, Father of The Bride, Five Things Friday, James Marsden, Jane Fonda, Jason Segel, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts, Julie Andrews, Kate Hudson, Katherine Heigl, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Made of Honor, Matthew McConaughey, Melissa McCartney, Michelle Monghan, Monster In Law, Movies, Owen Wilson, Patrick Dempsey, Pierce Brosnan, Princess Diaries, Richard Gere, Robert DeNiro, Robin Williams, Rose Byrne, Runaway Bride, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and The City, Susan Sarandon, The Big Wedding, The Five Year Engagement, The Princess Bride, The Princess Diaries, The Wedding Planner, Topher Grace, Vince Vaughn, Wedding Crashers, Weddings 2 Comments

Movie Review: The Princess Diaries (2001)

Plot: Mia Thermopolis has just found out that she is the heir apparent to the throne of Genovia. With her friends Lilly and Michael Moscovitz in tow, she tries to navigate through the rest of her 16th year. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247638/

Rating: 7/10

Watching The Princess Diaries fourteen years after it first came out brings back so many nostalgic memories. Can there be anything better to see than Anne Hathaway before she was annoying AF? Then there is the subtle reminder that Julie Andrews will always be the Queen of the Universe and is unparalleled in beauty and class. We have some Mandy Moore before she went AWOL, perfect as the nightmare of any teenage girl’s dreams – the perfect, preppy and quite nasty Lana Thomas. We have Josh Bryan – the boy, who looking back, no one can quite understand why everyone thought he was hot back in the day (Hormones are shady business).We have Heather Matarazzo as Lilly Moscovitz, who is the best chosen cast member in this movie. I enjoyed Robert Schwartzman as Michael Moscovitz, although I wouldn’t have chosen him to play Michael on my own accord.

Then there is the whole storyline. It is quite preposterous, but who doesn’t want to learn that they are the Princess and Heiress to a small and beautiful country, and that your grandmamma is Julie Andrews?! I mean, come on. Mia Thermopolis is the spirit animal of every teenage girl – shy, gawky and sure you are somehow a freakish creation that will never find a man. Mia’s transformation is lovely to see but the whole eventual point of the story remains clear – if you don’t believe in yourself, there is no amount of power in the world that can really change your destiny.

As for the changes from the book to movie (you can read my review of the first Princess Diaries book here), I think that some were well done and others didn’t make sense to even change. Mia’s hair is brown in here, and I think that suits her character better. Queen Clarisse is much nicer, which works better yet again. Then there are small things like Mia’s mom not dating her Algebra teacher but her history one, which seems stupid because one of Mia’s funniest problems in the book is her adversity to math. Her father is also dead, not the faintly pompous but alive version we meet in the books. The first three books are also squeezed into one movie – something that works okay as the books are thin and quick reads.

I really enjoyed the movie – I can see that it is not the best movie made or anything, but there is so much fun and heart and teenage silliness in here that it is easy to ignore anything not so stellar about this. And who ever said that there is anything wrong with Popcorn Entertainment?

November 2, 2015November 1, 2015 by Natasha Categories: Movies, ReviewsTags: 2001, Anne Hathaway, Heather Matarazzo, Lilly Moscovitz, Mia Thermopolis, Michael Moscovitz, Movies, Princess Diaries, Reviews, Robert Schwartzman, The Princess Diaries 6 Comments

HAPPY MIDDLE OF THE YEAR – MID YEAR IN REVIEW

Hello everyone! Today is the 2^nd of July, a.k.a. the EXACT MIDDLE OF THE YEAR. In exactly 183 days we will be partying in 2016. It also means that we only have another 183 days left where things can go totally wrong for us. Not bad, eh?!

To celebrate this joyous occasion, I have compiled a list of things that I’ve done in this year that seems noteworthy… or not. It at least proves the amount of time I spend on movies, books and series! Enjoy!!

2015 Movies watched so far:

The movie year didn’t start off so well for me. I mean, I watched Seventh Son. I gave it a 6/10, and I still think that is a very fair assessment. It is really not great and it could have been much more with the cast they had available.

The next was Best of Me, a movie adaption from Nicholas Sparks. It was unoriginal and cheesy, typical Sparks. I gave it a 6/10 as well, and counted my losses, and looked with hope to the next movie.

The next movie is still one of my favorites of the year, Ballade vir ‘n enkeling. It is a South-African film and I thought it would be okay at best. It was so well done. I was and am so proud of the quality they produced here and super chuffed that it is a local film, that I got to see it in cinema and that one of the lead actors, Armand Aucamp, was nice enough to read the post, comment on it and favorite it on Twitter #hellyeah #famousness. I gave it a well-deserved 8/10.

I went to see Disney’s latest live adaption, Cinderella, in cinema. It wasn’t close to the entertainment that Maleficent brought us last year. The story was exactly as it has been since Cinderella the animation was released a million years ago, the characters were perfectly cast (but was that even necessary?). I think that if Disney wants to keep on doing these and make them a success they need to make it unique or at least change perspectives of the film. I gave it a 6.5/10, because it was quite enchanting even though it wasn’t excellent.

I chose watching Kingsman: A Secret Service, instead of Fifty Shades in Cinema, and let me tell you, it was an excellent decision. The movie is

Avengers: Age of Ultron has easily been my most anticipated movie of 2015. I am a massive fan of the first Avengers, and think Marvel excelled there. This time around everything was bigger – the villain, the explosions, the fights, the character development. It worked really well although I don’t see the point of the love story. But anyway. It was good, and I rated it an 8/10

#cannotBeUnseen

Fifty Shades of Grey.LOLS. I know so many people who were really looking forward to this. I wasn’t, and even refused to go watch it in cinema because that would mean helping it edge closer to the billion dollar mark at the cinema (which it didn’t, and I’m very sure it is because I stood my ground!). It is bad. Like really, really bad. The source material is nothing to work from, because it is sex, sex and more sex and then more sex on top of that. You can’t put all that sexy time into a movie in the graphic detail the readers seems to have wanted into a film and show it to large audiences. The acting was awful – the best was Dakota Johnson, and she’s not any Meryl Streep if you know what I mean. The chemistry lacked, the lines were painfully cheesy and the sexy time wasn’t sexy. Just go read my review and see what I said haha. I gave it a 6/10, received some flak for it, but I stand firm – it wasn’t THAT bad and Johnson worked really hard at this.

Pitch Perfect  2 was my most apprehensive venture into cinema yet this year. I hated the first one (disclaimer:  I need to watch it again because I was hanging when I saw the first one and it might not be that bad). The second one was really a lot of fun and had elements of girl power, and you all know I cheer madly when that happens. I love Fat Amy, she’s hilar, and I think the execution of the movie was really well done. I gave it an 8/10 again.

I just watched Jurassic World and thought it was great fun and a very good sequel. I don’t really know if I support more movies coming into this franchise, but after the massive box office hit I am sure they won’t let this in peace. Chris Pratt the adventurer is also a lovely thing to behold 😉

Books

I’ve read an astonishingly small amount of new books this year, instead rereading all my favorite ones. The best book I’ve read for the first time this year is definitely Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I campaigned to everyone I knew to read that book and still do – it is such a cute book man.

I recently read the first four books in the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot. It is not such an amazing achievement though, as the books are never more than a 150 pages long each. They are really fun though, and excellent entertainment when your brain needs some easy fun.

The Liar by Nora Roberts proved to be a very nice read. The quality of her last couple of books hasn’t been excellent, so naturally I was relieved when this book had some entertainment value.

The Brightest Star in the Sky has been the oddest book I’ve ever read from Marian Keyes, and she is well known for her odd books. The book is way too long and often a bit drawn out, but I had a good time.

I am currently busy reading Atonement by Ian McEwan. I’ve been interested in this book after seeing the heart wrenching movie, and although I am only a few pages in I find that the book is really well written.

Further on I would like to get to The Woman who Stole my Life (Marian Keyes), Looking for Alaska (John Green), Indelible (Karin Slaughter) and Ruby Circle (Richelle Mead).

Series

The Dawn of Downton Abbey

Have you guessed I would talk about this series on here? Because I’ve reviewed Seasons 1, 2 and 3 already, and guess what? Season four is scheduled for scheduled for tomorrow 😀 :D. I blew through all the seasons of this. It is simply impossible to stop watching something so well done. It is very likely my favorite series of all time.  Season three made me rather angry – some deaths were SO uncalled for. Season four was good but not up to the standards of the previous three and season five was as good as the first three. Have I mentioned that I can’t wait for the sixth season?

Game of Thrones

Meh. I hoped season five would be like the glorious first two seasons. But we can’t always have what we want, right? I reviewed the first four episodes and still need to get to the rest, but really, I am so disinterested in Westeros at the moment. The story is badly developed at the moment and I think they are incapable of dealing with the expanding territories at the moment.

Gilmore Girls

I spent a lot of time running through this series this year. It is the best throwback EVER. I still need to finish Season 7, but as we know it is not the best ever. There are increasing talks to get a movie out, but we will still see, won’t we?

I am currently busy with Pretty Little Liars Season 5. It is okay, but I think I’ve seen so many other series that are really good at this point that I am slightly bored with this right now. It makes for senseless viewing, which isn’t a bad thing at all. I would like to get into Vikings – I saw the first few minutes of the first episode and it hasn’t gripped me yet. Daredevil and Agent Carter are the two Marvel series I am looking forward at watching as well. YAY for Superheroes!!

How has your year been so far?

July 2, 2015July 2, 2015 by Natasha Categories: Books, Fun, Movies, Reviews, SeriesTags: Age of Ultron, Anna Kendrick, Atonement, Ballade vir 'n enkeling, Best of Me, Books, Cinderella, Colin Firth, Dakota Johnson, Downton Abbey, Eleanor and Park, Fifty Shades of Grey, fun, Game of Thrones, Gilmore girls, Ian McEwan, James Marsden, Jurassic World, Kingsman, Lilly James, Marian Keyes, Meg Cabot, Middle of The Year, Movies, Nicholas Sparks, Nora Roberts, Pitch Perfect 2, Princess Diaries, Rainbow Rowell, Rebel Wilson, Reviews, Richard Madden, Series, Seventh Son, The Brightest Star in the Sky, the Liar 13 Comments

Book Review: The Princess Diaries (Meg Cabot)

Plot: Mia Thermopolis is pretty sure there’s nothing worse than being a five-foor-nine, flat-chested freshman, who also happens to be flunking Algebra.

Is she ever in for a surprise.

First Mom announces that she’s dating Mia’s Algebra teacher. Then Dad has to go and reveal that he is the crown prince of Genovia. And guess who still doesn’t have a date for the Cultural Diversity Dance?

Rating: 7.5/10

Let me just say: I absolutely love the film adaption of this book. It is so much fun and Anne Hathaway is much more likeable in here than she ever was in anything else. I’ve never read the book before, so I thought it would be really nice to see how it stacked up in the eternal movie vs book debate.

Well, both are really good even though they have numerous differences. Firstly, Mia’s father is alive in the book, so the reason of informing her that she is an heiress has nothing to do with his death and only with his incapability of procreating again after testicular cancer. Her grandmother is not as cool or queenly as Julie Andrews is and Mia’s hair is blonde, not brown. I can live with all these changes in the movie because it makes her story seem a little more plausible and I think the blonde hair in the book doesn’t really suit the awkward character.  But, the essence of Mia’s character is maintained excellently in the film, because she is in the book the most awkward, shy and socially disabled teenager you can ever come across. I thought the book is well written in a diary format and gives you such an entertaining view of the thoughts of a teenage girl. I really liked it and it is a quick and easy read. It is definitely not for everyone, but I had such an entertaining time with it!

June 18, 2015June 15, 2015 by Natasha Categories: Books, Meg Cabot, Reviews, The Princess DiariesTags: Books, Genovia, Mia Thermopolis, Princess Diaries, Reading, Review 6 Comments

Review: Princess Diaries (2001)

Mia Thermopolis’ (Anne Hathaway) main ambition in life is to be invisible. The 15 year old lives with her mother Helen and their cat Fat Louie in a renovated firehouse in San Francisco. She is very unpopular at her private school, with only two friends: her best friend Lily Moscovitz (Heather Matarazzo) and her brother Michael (Robert Schwartzman).

A few weeks before Mia turns 16, she is invited to meet her paternal grandmother for the first time in her life. When she arrives at the Genovian consulate, she gets the shock of her life: her grandmother is in fact Queen Clarisse Renaldi, Queen of Genovia. Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews) explains that Mia is now the only heir to the Genovian throne. Mia refuses to acknowledge her position and runs away from the consulate to go fight with her mother for withholding life changing information. When Clarisse visits her at her house, it is explained to her that without her acceptance to her title, Genovia will have no future ruler. The three ladies come to an agreement that Mia will take Princess Lessons, and can decide her fate on the Genovian Independence Day ball. The queen appoints her head of security, Joe (Hecto Elizando) as Mia’s personal bodyguard.

Mia’s lessons start and she meets her grandmother each day after school. She has to frequently cancel her plans with her best friend, which leads to explosions from Lilly. She finally shares the news with her after an Italian hairdresser, Paulo transforms her image and Lilly accuses her of “trying to fit in”. Lilly is obviously ecstatic, but things start going off again when Paulo leaks the information of a Princess schoolgirl to the press.

School becomes crazy for Mia, and she hides on the rooftop with Joe. But finally there seems to be some good things happening to her. Josh Bryant, a popular boy band lookalike, finally notices her, and asks her to the school beach party. There he kisses her as a publicity stunt, and Mia is further humiliated by school bully Lana Thomas (Mandy Moore) and her cronies. The Queen is furious after Mia appears in a newspaper in compromising photos. Joe points out to the Queen how unfair she was as the situation was out of control. Clarisse apologises to Mia, and their bond is stronger than before. Mia gets her revenge on Lana by messing ice cream on her cheerleader outfit at school, and the teachers are amused that Lana finally got some medicine of her own.

Mia realises that she must choose her destiny (rather difficult for a 15 year old) and plans to run away. She opens the diary her father left her for her 16^th birthday, and misses the letter that falls out. Just as she wants to run away, she notices the letter Fat Louie is sitting on. Reading it, she realises she needs to become a princess. On her way to the consulate her car breaks down (in the rain) and it seems all hope is lost. Joe, who realised her intentions, saves her and takes her to the consulate to accept her position. Mia ends up with her friend Michael, who had a crush on her all along.

The story ends with Mia in an aeroplane, arriving in Genovia to take over her duties.

Rating: 7/10

This movie is a serious contender to be a favourite film of all time to me. It really is a very sweet and fun film. This movie was Anne Hathaway’s first movie, and it is obvious there that she was meant to become a star. She portrays the awkward Mia perfectly. I love the movie because it really is about a young girl making difficult decisions and about the importance of being who you are.

March 7, 2013 by Natasha Categories: Movies, ReviewsTags: Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, Movies, Princess Diaries, Reviews Leave a comment