00s Movie Review - Love Actually

Director: Richard Curtis
Genre: Comedy/ Romance/ Drama
Runtime: 135 minutes
Year: 2003
Starring: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Laura Linney, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, Rowan Atkinson, Martine McCutheon, Martin Freeman, Joanna Page, Andrew Lincoln, Chiwetel, Ejiofor, Thomas Sangster, Rodrigo Santoro

Description: Follows the lives of several different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.

Review: With “Love Actually”, the directorial debut by Richard Curtis shows that life is full of small moments of love and affection. Me not being a romance girlie, this is one of the few exceptions in the genre that I’m absolutely in love with.

Richard Curtis is mostly know for his screenwriting, having been apart of “Blackadder”, “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Notting Hill”, among others. “Love Actually” is as smoothly put together as the romcoms for which he alone wrote the screenplay.

The fact that Curtis managed to have the best of the best actors at his disposal also work in his favor. It’s not hard to take them to heart. We follow several storylines in this film, some of them intertwine at some. We meet David, as he arrives on his first day as the Prime Minister, falling in love with Nathalie who is in his staff. Karen is painfully confronted with her husband’s potential adultery. Daniel has just lost his wife and has to deal with his young stepson’s first time being in love. Jamie leaves for France after he finds out his girlfriend is cheating on him with his brother. Here he meets Aurelia, but there is a language barrier. Sarah has been in love Karl for over two years, but because of her sick brother she never lets herself act on it. Jack and Judy meet each other while being movie stand-ins for nude scenes. Old rocker Billy Mack is trying to reach the number one spot with his Christmas song. Mark’s best friend Peter marries Juliet. Juliet feels like Mark doesn’t really like her, finding out that that’s not the reason he never talks to her. And finally Colin, who is sick of British girls and travels to America to find a woman.

Even though not all storylines are equally successful or enjoyable, the complete package is so lovely. This film has high rewatchability and I simply can’t get enough of it. I want to watch it every Christmas. And the ending is very satisfactory as well. Sugar sweet and overly romantic, but for some reason I am totally fine with it here.  

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Review - Penguin Bloom

Director: Glendyn Ivin
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 95 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln, Jacki Weaver, Griffin Murray-Johnston, Essi Murray Johnston, Abe Clifford Barr, Felix Cameron, Rachel House

Description: A family takes in an injured Magpie that makes a profound difference in their lives.

Review: A happy family with three sons is in danger of falling apart when mom Sam falls off a balcony while traveling in Thailand. She is confined to her wheelchair for the rest of ther life and that weighs heavily on Sam and her family. When oldest son Noah suddenly comes home with a baby Magpie, a bond grows between Sam and bird Penguin and it proves to be a bright spot for her and her family.
Naomi Watts is one of my favorites and she carries this film effortlessly. She is very well supported by Andrew Lincoln, who plays her husband Cam.
The story is a bit predictable, but here it doesn’t bother me. Mostly because it’s based on true story. And it has a very satisfying ending, which you already know when you start the film.
It’s a perfect family film actually. A beautiful looking movie, with a touching story and great acting.

Rating: 4 / 5

TV Show Review - The Walking Dead (Season 9)

Season: 9
Genre: Horror/ Drama/ Adventure
Number of episodes: 16
Year: 2018/ 2019
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohen, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Alanna Masterson, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquad, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Tom Payne

Description: Eighteen months after the defeat of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) under an alliance of communities spearheaded by Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), the season focuses on the united communities as they face obstacles and dangers both outside and inside their alliance, with the threat of the mysterious Whisperers looming.

Review: After season 8, “The Walking Dead” had lost my interest a bit. The pacing was slow and the unexpected deaths of some character didn’t help either. Rick decision about Negan’s fate in the season 8 finale was very lame and I thought it was the end for the show. But then there was season 9, which brought the show back to life.
Andrew Lincoln was announced to leave the show. I was never a huge fan of Rick Grimes, so I wasn’t disappointed. But I was afraid that “The Walking Dead” would suffer from this. Because Rick was the main character of the show.
From the start of the season, “The Walking Dead” felt fresh. It had a new opening sequence, it made a time jump and the pacing was much faster. The walkers are more present and the way they wrote Rick out of the show has been handled well. Maggie’s departure not so much, because she was just gone all of a sudden. And within the season another time jump was added.
With The Hilltop, The Kingdom and Alexandria still working together, you can see that, after Rick’s death, a lot has happened between the three places and their leaders.
The most interesting and exciting part of season 9 is the new hostile group: the Whisperers. They skin walkers and used their faces as a mask, so they can blend in with the actual walkers. Negan was a great villain at the start, but eventually became softer. The Whisperers are a real threat, they are scary an merciless.
I also liked the connection between Rick’s daughter Judith and Negan. Unlikely to see them get along, but it’s very endearing to see them bond.
Since a long time, “The Walking Dead” has been interesting again and it managed to shock us towards the end of the season. Something that the show was lacking in season 8.

TV Review: "The Walking Dead"Season 6

Genre: Drama/ Horror/ Thriller
Year: 2015/ 2016
Number of Episodes: 16
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Michael Cudlitz, Daniah Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lenny James, Christian Serratos, Sonequa Martin-Green, Josh McDermitt, Ross Marquand, Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Description: Rick Grimes leads a group of survivors in a world overrun by the walking dead. Fighting the dead, fearing the living.

Review: The season starts with Rick and his crew trying to assimilate into the Alexandria group. A lot of new faces, non as interesting as any of the old gang. Denise and Aaron are the only ones that were likeable and I could see them in Rick’s group.
There are a lot more introductions in season 6. Besides the Alexandria people, we also meet the Wolves, people from Hilltop and Negan’s associates. Especially the last had us on the edge of our seats, because who was this Negan character? More about him later. Some drama: Maggie being pregnant, Rick and Michonne hooking up, Abraham and Rosita breaking up, Carl losing an eye. You gotta love the drama.
The biggest shock was Glenn’s death (Episode 3: Thank You) , or what turned out not to be his death. They left us believing Glenn died a horrible death, for a couple of episodes. Everyone cried! Then to later find out it was someone else who died and Glenn was still alive (Episode 7: Heads Up). Don’t get me wrong, I like Glenn and I’m happy he’s still around. But what a twist it would have been if he had really died at such an unpredictable point in the season.
The Morgan episode (Episode 4: Here’s Not Here) I didn’t really like. I think most people did, but it was my least favorite episode of the season. I think Morgan is an interesting character and I wanted to know more about him, what he did after parting ways with Rick. But the episode was very slow.
The episode where Daryl, Sasha and Abraham first meet the Saviors (Episode 9: No Way Out) and where the people left in Alexandria are trying to find a way through all the walkers, was probably the best, bloodiest and most exciting episode of the season.
Later we meet the Hilltop Colony (Episode 11: Knots Untie) and they tell Rick and his people they have been working for Negan in order to stay alive. This made me even more intrigued, I wanted to find out who Negan was. But I knew I wasn’t going to see him anytime soon.
When Rick plans on a surprise attack on the Savior’s compound (Episode 12: Not Tomorrow Yet) we think we will see Negan, but off course we don’t. Carol and Maggie get captured and in the next episode (Episode 13: The Same Boat) we meet some of Negan’s people. Another pretty bloody episode, Maggie and Carol kick some ass in this one.
All these events lead us to the 90 minute season finale (Episode 16: Last Day on Earth) and our long awaited introduction to Negan. In this final episode Rick, Abraham, Eugene, Sasha and Carl are driving their RV to Hilltop, to get Maggie to a doctor. She is having pains and isn’t doing well. Everywhere they go, roads are blocked by Negan’s people. In the meantime Daryl, Rosita, Glenn and Michonne are captured and Morgan is looking for Carol. Did it need 90 minutes, I don’t think so, but it was a great episode. Especially the last 10 minutes. We finally meet Negan, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Morgan kills it, he is fantastic as Negan, who might possibly be the best villain the show has had. Rick and his people are all lined up, sitting on their knees. One of them is going to meet Lucille, Negan’s barb wired baseball bat. When Negan starts hitting, we see it from the point of view of the victim. We don’t know who it is and that’s exactly where they leave us.
Many people are angry and didn’t like the finale. I loved it. I always like cliffhangers, because they leave me wanting more. This makes me even more excited for season 7. They want us to talk about “The Walking Dead” and that is exactly what we are going to do. Speculate about who Negan killed and why he choose this person. I think it’s either Eugene, Daryl or Abraham. In might be Glenn, because in the comics it’s Glenn. But we all know “The Walking Dead” loves twists and surprises.

Marry, Kiss, Cliff - Round 11

Andy Stitzer (“The 40 Year Old Virgin”), Mark (“Love Actually”) and Spock (“Star Trek”)

Marry: Mark is such a sweet guy, who knows how to sweep a girl off her feet. I think he would make a loving and caring husband. (And if a zombie apocalypse would start, he would easily kill them. Yes, that’s the same guy!)

Kiss: Andy Stitzer is the sweetest guy ever. I would easily marry him too, but I most definitely don’t want to push him off a cliff. So I would kiss him instead, because this guy has had all the bad luck one man can handle.

Cliff: Spock is way too serious for me and his haircut is just a no-no!

Top 5 Thursday: "Love Actually" Storylines

Last week I shared my favourite Christmas movies, so one of them is the centre of this week’s top five. I decided to share with you my favourite storylines from the movie “Love Actually”.

5. Jamie & Aurelia
Jamie’s girlfriend cheated on him with his brother and he goes to France to write his novel. The Portugese Aurelia is his new housekeeper there and they don’t understand each other. When Jamie has to leave, Aurelia kisses him. When back in England, Jamie learns Portugese and travels back to see Aurelia. He asks her to marry him and she says yes.

4. John & Just Judy
John and Judy meet while acting as stand-ins for a sex scene in a movie. They get along immediately. They get in all sorts of weird sexual positions, but they start talking about everyday things. Eventually John asks her out and Judy says yes.

3. Daniel & Sam
Daniel just lost his wife and is left alone with her son Sam. Sam isn’t talking and Daniel is worried about him, but when he starts to talk Daniel finds out he’s in love. He’s trying to help Sam to win over the girl of his dreams.

2. Mark & Juliet
Although Juliet just got married, the grooms best friend Mark is actually in love with her. Juliet always thought Mark hated her, because he never talked to her, but it was just self-preservation. Because it’s Christmas he decides to tell Juliet the truth and he does that with the help of cue cards.

1. David & Natalie
David is the new Prime Minister of England and when he meets his household staff, he also meets Natalie. She leaves an immediate impression on him and he falls for her. It’s very inconvenient. But eventually they both tell each other how they feel. They are trying to keep it a secret, but it’s revealed very soon.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Billy Mack, Harry & Karen

Top 5 Thursday: Sexiest Men on TV of the Moment

If I had to do a list of TV actors of all-time it probably has to be a top 100, because a top 5 of 2013 was already hard enough. Here is my choice of sexiest men on TV 2013.

5. Andrew Lincoln (“The Walking Dead”)
He’s not my favourite character, but I think he’s slightly more attractive then Norman Reedus. I already loved this guy in “Love Actually”, where he melted my heart…

4. Ian Somerhalder (“The Vampire Diaries”)
Although I stopped watching this show, I remember why I started to watch it in the first place. Ian Somerhalder hypnotizes you with his handsomeness.

3. Theo Rossi (“Sons of Anarchy”)
What can I say, his character Juice isn’t the brightest star but he’s definitely great for the female eye. I can understand why his nickname on the show is Juice. I started to like him as a character as well, he’s my second favorite.

2. George Eads (“CSI")
Still staying strong after thirteen seasons of my favourite show “CSI” and about to kick of the 14th season! I love his Texas charm.

1. Jensen Ackles (“Supernatural")
Frequent readers of my blog probably predicted this. Jensen Ackles is still on TV and he’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. He’s perfect in every way.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Alex O’Loughlin in “Hawaii Five-O”, Norman Reedus in “The Walking Dead”, Charlie Hunnam in “Sons of Anarchy”, Jesse Williams in “Grey’s Anatomy”

Top 5 Thursday: Characters from "The Walking Dead"

Yesterday I did a pic spam featuring one of the actors from this amazing show. Now I’m giving you my five favorite characters from “The Walking Dead”.

5. Rick Grimes
The leader of the group and that’s a big responsibility. But he’s doing an OK job so far. Rick would do anything for his family and the members of their group. I think it’s tough to stay sane in a situation like this, but Rick manages.

4. Glenn Rhee
He kind of reminds me of Hurley from “Lost”. A guy you just can’t hate, everybody likes him. And Glenn is very brave and honest.

3. Dale Horvath
Dale is a loyal and wise man. He’s the guy you can always rely on. I liked him in combination with Andrea. It really broke my heart when Dale died, I actually cried. He just wanted everybody to be save, instead he had to give is life for it.

2. Maggie Green
I liked her from the beginning. She is a tough girl and ver loyal to Glenn and all the other survivors in the group.

1. Daryl Dixon
Not at first, but Daryl grew on me somehow. I especially liked the part where he was trying to find Sophia. Daryl has a big mouth, but maybe even a bigger heart.

They Almost Made the Top 5: T-Dog, Andrea, Carol Peletier

Pic Spam: Andrew Lincoln

I'm really into "The Walking Dead" lately. Just watched the first two seasons on DVD and waiting for season 3 to come out on DVD too. I know the season finale of that season just aired a couple of days ago, so I'm a little behind. But I think this show is pretty awesome. And so is its leading actor Andrew Lincoln. I know him from "Love Actually" where he portrayed my favorite character. Here are some of his best pictures.

In the Picture: The Characters from "Love Actually"

"Love Actually" is the perfect film for the holidays. Christmas is coming near so it's time to take a look at this film again. There are so many characters, that I had to cut a little bit. Here are the characters from "Love Actually".

Harry
Played by: Alan Rickman
Harry is a manager at a designer agency. He recently got a new, young assistant. Harry feels attracted to her, but he’s also very happily married and the father of two. He buys his assistant an expensive necklace for Christmas. He later admits his foolishness.

Karen
Played by: Emma Thompson
Karen is Harry’s wife and she’s busy dealing with her children Daisy and Bernard. She finds the necklace in Harry’s pocket, assuming that it’s for her. When she’s opening presents, she realizes that the necklace wasn’t for her, but she doesn’t want anyone to know that she has been crying over it. Karen does confront him.

David
Played by: Hugh Grant
David is Karen’s sister and is the recently elected Prime Minister. He’s a young and single man. He meets his household staff and has an instant click with Natalie. Because of his position, he thinks it’s inappropriate to have feelings for her.

Jamie
Played by: Colin Firth
Jamie walks in on his brother, while he’s sleeping with his girlfriend. Crushed by this, Jamie retires to his French cottage where he meets Portugese housekeeper Aurélia who speaks only her native tongue. There’s an instant attraction between them and when he returns to England he realizes how much he loves her. For her, Jamie learns Portugese and visits her to ask her to marry him.

Juliet
Played by: Keira Knightley
Juliet is a happy newlywed woman and got married in a lovely ceremony to Peter. Juliet doesn’t get along with Mark, but she has no idea why he doesn’t like her. She tries to bond with him, but he never talks to her. When Juliet visits him, she find out that Mark has actually been madly in love with her all that time.

Daniel
Played by: Liam Neeson
Daniel is Karen’s best friend. He just lost his wife and is left behind with his stepson Sam. Daniel wants to help Sam with his mission to win over the girl he’s in love with. With that he also tries to deal with losing his love and tries to move on.

Sam
Played by: Thomas Sangster
Sam has fallen in love with his classmate Joanna. He found out that there’s only one way to win her over: become a musician. He starts to play drums to impress her at the school Christmas party. When she’s leaving for America, Sam follows her at the airport to tell her about his feelings.

Billy Mack
Played by: Bill Nighy
Billy Mack is a worn off rockstar with only one more goal: He wants to score the number one Christmas single. His longtime manager Joe is the only one who always stood by him and he realizes that he’s been ‘the love of his life’.

Natalie
Played by: Martine McCutcheon
Natalie is one of the members in David’s household staff. She appears to be very nervous while meeting him for the first time, because she starts rambling and swears a couple of times. David finds it endeering. Natalie is pushed into a corner by the American president, who’s tried to seduce her.

Mark
Played by: Andrew Lincoln
Mark is Peter’s best friend and is secretly in love with Juliet. He never talks to her because of self-preservation and out of respect to his friend Peter. Mark does take a moment to truly confess his feelings for Juliet, which she acknowledges with a kiss.

Sarah
Played by: Laura Linney
Sarah works for Harry and she has been in love with her co-worker Karl for years. At a Christmas party, the two dance and eventually Karl drives her home. Sarah invites him in, where they start kissing. They are interrupted by Sarah’s mentally ill brother, which effectivly ends things between Sarah and Karl.

Rufus
Played by: Rowan Atkinson
Rufus is a minor but significant character. He is a jewelry salesman and is obsessed with gift wrapping things. With that obsession, Harry almost gets caught while buying the necklace. Rufus is also the distraction at the airport, so that Sam can run to Joanna.

Favorite Character: Mark

Movie Tip #3 - Love Actually

Director: Richard Curtis

Starring: Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Liam Neeson, Keira Knightley, Laura Linney, Colin Firth, Rowan Atkinson, Martine McCutcheon, Andrew Lincoln, Martin Freeman

Description: We follow the lives of eight different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.

Review: This movie stands for the perfect Christmas feeling and each story gives you different emotions. I especially like the story about the Prime minister (Hugh Grant) and the one with widower Daniel (Liam Neeson) and his stepson. This movie will probably be on TV during Christmas, so go watch it, because it's funny, sad, heartwarming and very romantic.