Thursday Movie Picks: Summer Break

-

 

This week's theme from Wandering Through The Shelves is about summer break! Summer is halfway over here already and it feels like it's gone by so fast. But here are a few films I enjoy that give you that forever summer mood.


1) Adventureland - I re-watched this recently and I forgot how much chemistry Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart have together. This is a fun, nostalgic film to watch for anyone that's spent their summers visiting an amusement park or a fair.


2) My Girl - Full disclosure, I have never been able to watch this film without crying at the end, but I loved it growing up. I felt like I could relate to Vada and it was such a sweet story of first love.


3) Kings of Summer - This is a movie that surprised me. At first glance a movie about 3 teenage boys who decide to build a house in the woods didn't appeal to me, but I listened to my fellow blogger's reviews and gave it a go. I ended up really enjoying it! 


Comments

  1. SaraJuly 22, 2021 at 8:53 AM

    Aw.. My Girl. I remember seeing this in the theaters and sobbing. Like, ugly cry. I don't think I've been able to watch it since to be honest. Adventureland was good too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 22, 2021 at 10:26 PM

      I've only watched in at home thankfully. Sobbing in public gets awkward lol

      Delete
  2. BirgitJuly 22, 2021 at 10:21 AM

    You changed your look! I like it. I will skip the first one because I can’t stand either of the actors to be honest. I really do like the second one which is much better than I thought it would be. I have not even heard of the last one.

    ReplyDelete
  3. joel65913July 22, 2021 at 3:11 PM

    I know by now I really should have seen Adventureland but I almost always find Stewart and Eisenberg to be personality free irritants in a film so I've avoided it.

    I liked but didn't love My Girl (I've never cried during it, but then I'm not a crier)

    Sorry to say I hated Kings of Summer.

    Wasn't sure how to go with this, there is a wide variety of picks, so to cover the spectrum I went with a heavy drama, gentle comedy and an adventure.

    Last Summer (1969)-Spending the summer unsupervised on Fire Island Sandy (Barbara Hershey), wealthy, spoiled and bored meets fellow teens Dan (Bruce Davison) and Peter (Richard Thomas) on the beach where the three quickly form a tight circle. One day they become acquainted with the awkward and naive Rhoda (Catherine Burns-Oscar nominated for Best Supporting Actress). At first friendly the trio close ranks and Rhoda becomes a figure of sport, teased and humiliated by the group. Distressing and disturbing story of maliciousness, sexual domination and cruelty with a pitch-black ending.

    The Flamingo Kid (1984)-Just out of high school Brooklyn teenager Jeffrey Willis (Matt Dillon) unhappy with his modest home, chances into a summer job at the posh Flamingo Club during summer break. Enticed by the heady atmosphere he is taken under the wing of smooth-talking club member Phil Brody (Richard Crenna) who extolls the pursue of the easy buck over the hard work of college much to Jeffrey’s father Arthur (Héctor Elizondo) chagrin. There are some late-summer hard lessons ahead for Jeff though.

    The River Wild (1994)-Troubled married couple Gail and Tom Hartman (Meryl Streep & David Strathairn) are taking their son, Roarke (Joseph Mazzello), on a birthday rafting trip down Idaho’s Salmon River during their summer vacation. Misfortune and danger come their way when they are taken hostage by fugitives Wade (Kevin Bacon) and Terry (John C. Reilly) who force Gail, a former raft guide, to help them attempt escape down the treacherous rapids.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 22, 2021 at 10:26 PM

      Aww I'm sorry you hated Kings of Summer. Of your picks, I've only seen The River Wild which I enjoyed. That was on TV a lot when I was a kid.

      Lucky you're not a crier. EVERYTHING makes me cry.

      Delete
  4. thevoid99July 22, 2021 at 5:21 PM

    I've seen bits of Adventureland but I had never seen Kings of Summer. My Girl is a film I have seen as what kid from the 90s didn't see that film?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 22, 2021 at 10:24 PM

      You might enjoy Kings of Summer! You should check it out some time.

      Delete
  5. DellJuly 22, 2021 at 5:58 PM

    Adventureland is underrated in my opinion. I wouldn't call it great, but it deserves to be more seen, for sure. My Girl is so tough. Haven't seen Kings of Summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 22, 2021 at 10:23 PM

      I agree. It's not amazing but very watchable and I enjoyed it.

      Delete
  6. RuthJuly 22, 2021 at 8:20 PM

    I have never seen Adventureland but I have to give it a shot for Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, they seem like an odd couple but glad to hear it works!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 22, 2021 at 10:23 PM

      They're great together. I hope they do another movie again.

      Delete
  7. GetterJuly 23, 2021 at 3:25 AM

    Adventureland and he Kings of Summer are so refreshingly good. My Girl is too cruel, I don't wanna think about it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kat ImpossibleJuly 23, 2021 at 8:49 AM

    My Girl is one of those movies that will never not make me cry!!! I thought about putting it on my list as well, but then just didn't want to be reminded of the tragedy. Great picks all around though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 23, 2021 at 1:56 PM

      I'm truly envious of anyone who sits through this dry eyed. lol

      Delete
  9. Sonia CercaJuly 24, 2021 at 9:13 AM

    I've only seen Adventureland and I wasn't a big fan. I even forgot it existed haha. I really need to see My Girl as it's not the first time someone picks it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 26, 2021 at 8:24 PM

      My Girl is so sad lol. Maybe it won't be as bad since your first viewing will be as an adult.

      Delete
  10. KatyJuly 25, 2021 at 3:31 PM

    Nice picks! I haven't watch The Kings of Summer in such a long time. Good reminder to rewatch it again. Glad we match on Adventureland! And, it's impossible to not think of My Girl and not get depressed. lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 26, 2021 at 8:23 PM

      Offerman was such a nice addition to Kings of Summer. He's who I think of.

      Delete
  11. WandererJuly 29, 2021 at 3:19 PM

    I've seen all and I'm pretty sure I've picked all of them for various other TMP themes before.

    Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart - yes they have so much chemistry, they starred in two other movies together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 29, 2021 at 3:23 PM

      I never did see their Woody Allen one but I prefer this one to that American Ultra one they were in.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more