Foreign Film Friday | Alica McKenna Johnson https://alicamckennajohnson.com Where Are We Going? And Why Am I in This Hand Basket? Sat, 14 Nov 2015 22:39:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 82690294 The Eleventh Hour https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/11/the-eleventh-hour/ https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/11/the-eleventh-hour/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2015 10:29:31 +0000 https://alicamckennajohnson.com/?p=2526 0054961877690_p0_v2_s192x300

Go Science!
Patrick Stewart stars as Ian Hood, so, yes, you should watch it right now. LOL. This mystery series has Ian chasing scientists turned to the dark side. He investigates and solves crimes involving human cloning, a deadly virus outbreak, global warming, and a deadly cure for cancer.
There are only four episodes on Acorn TV, a streaming web service for BBC shows. SWOONS.
This was a very fun series. As always, Patrick Stewart is wonderful.

 

I couldn’t find an official trailer but here is a fan made one.

 

]]> https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/11/the-eleventh-hour/feed/ 2 2526 What We Do In The Shadows https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/11/what-we-do-in-the-shadows/ Fri, 06 Nov 2015 08:59:33 +0000 https://alicamckennajohnson.com/?p=2463 Vampire movies, what we do in the shadows
I didn’t realize my life was missing a mockumentary about vampires until I watch What We Do In The Shadows. This shows the ‘real’ struggles of centuries old vampires trying to find their way in the modern world. This is a slow movie, but funny, and it’s also classified as horror, and while, yes, they feed, and there are some bodies, I don’t remember it being very scary.
If you are a vampire fan and enjoy darker comedies, I think you’ll enjoy this movie.

 

]]> 2463 The Brokenwood Mysteries https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/10/the-brokenwood-mysteries/ https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/10/the-brokenwood-mysteries/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2015 10:56:12 +0000 https://alicamckennajohnson.com/?p=2454 Brokenwood, murder mysteries, Alica McKenna Johnson, Phoenix Child
I love mysteries, especially ones set in other countries, so this drama set in Auckland, New Zealand, was perfect. Fun little mysteries, quirky, engaging characters. I really enjoyed the first season of this show and look forward to watching more.

 

]]> https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/10/the-brokenwood-mysteries/feed/ 4 2454 Neverlake https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/10/neverlake/ https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/10/neverlake/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2015 18:27:30 +0000 https://alicamckennajohnson.com/?p=2448 A creepy horror /mystery set in Italy. A combination of modern horrors and ancient powers force Jenny into searching for the truth hidden under her estranged father’s home.
This is a movie that builds. There are clues and things that obviously aren’t quite right, until all the different puzzle pieces come together. I will say I was surprised by what was really going on. I hadn’t guessed the truth, which was fun.
I enjoyed it. Not amazing but a creepily fun way to spend a few hours.

 

]]> https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/10/neverlake/feed/ 2 2448 Let the Right One In https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/09/let-the-right-one-in/ Fri, 04 Sep 2015 09:55:44 +0000 https://alicamckennajohnson.com/?p=2418 vampire movies, foreign films, Alica McKenna Johnson
I love vampire movies, even bad vampire movies, so I’m surprised it took me this long to watch Let the Right One In, the original. This is not a fast paced attack the sexy vampire movie. This is a movie about a sad little boy who finds a friend in his new neighbor who happens to be a vampire trapped as a 12 yr old girl.
The vampire was very well acted, she switched between a killer needing blood, a lonely 12 yr old child, and an immortal being. It blended very well and I found it to be an interesting story.
I’m not sure it was a happy ending. It wasn’t an unhappy ending, but only you can decide if the ending is happy or not.

 

 

 

 

]]> 2418 The Kingman https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/07/the-kingman/ https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/07/the-kingman/#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2015 15:34:01 +0000 https://alicamckennajohnson.com/?p=2376  

I tried not to do spoilers, but just in case, this is your spoiler warning.

 

 

 

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Colin Firth as a bad ass in a suit. Samuel L Jackson as a bad guy with a lisp. And a sexy assassin with two prostatic legs which turn into swords. Of course I have to watch this movie. Did I mention Colin Firth?? *swoons*
Ass kicking, suits, British accents, Samuel being awesome I loved it. I laughed and cheered and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Until the last fifteen or so minutes of the movie. And then it crashed and burned. I was so disappointed. It felt like the director was going through his to-do list and was all “Oh crap we haven’t sexually degraded women yet, let’s throw this in.”
It had no place in the movie. First the other women in the movie were shown as people not tits and ass. Second they were training him to be a GENTELMAN, not a pathetic man-whore.
When the princess says “If you save the world I’ll give you more than a kiss.” It should have stopped there. And then the cute grin while holding the champagne glasses and bottle and going into her room, and end, because ‘gentleman’ and really you don’t HAVE to sexually degrade women to make a movie.
So IF I watch the movie again I will stop before the very end so I don’t have to be disappointed and pissed off by the ending.

]]> https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/07/the-kingman/feed/ 3 2376 Kung Fury https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/06/kung-fury/ https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/06/kung-fury/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2015 16:52:49 +0000 https://alicamckennajohnson.com/?p=2330 Today’s foreign Film Friday is special. You get a whole movie! Thirty minutes of awesome to brighten your weekend. It is so bad, so very very bad. Also read the subtitles, they are important.

 

]]> https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/06/kung-fury/feed/ 2 2330 Foreign Film Friday: Ghost Graduation https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/05/foreign-film-friday-ghost-graduation/ https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/05/foreign-film-friday-ghost-graduation/#comments Fri, 29 May 2015 10:10:28 +0000 https://alicamckennajohnson.com/?p=2265 ghost graduation
The blurb for this Spanish movie made it seem like it would be a silly fun ghost story. And it was, but it was also touching. A teacher is hired at a high school because of his ability to see and speak to ghosts who are causing trouble.

 
It started out silly, but by the end, it was a ghost version of The Breakfast Club. Very fun. Go and check it out.

 

]]> https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/05/foreign-film-friday-ghost-graduation/feed/ 2 2265 Foreign Film Friday: Dead Snow 2 Red vs Dead https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/04/foreign-film-friday-dead-snow-2-red-vs-dead/ Fri, 24 Apr 2015 15:11:31 +0000 https://alicamckennajohnson.com/?p=2228 Dead Snow 2, bad horror movies, foreign horror movies, Alica McKenna Johnson, Phoenix Child
This sequel takes place directly after the end of the first movie. It has a different director ,and their intention was to make it campy. So I’m fine with campy. I love bad horror movies. What I didn’t like was the change in the films from the first to the second, especially since I watched them back to back.

 
I felt they missed an opportunity. First they have an evil hand, which is fine I’m all for an evil hand, but they failed to do the opposite with a good hand, which I thought would have been super fun.

 
So I had friends unhappy with me because of the ending of the first movie, Not all horror movies have a happy ending. The ending of this one, yeah so OMG gross!!!!

 
Overall the movie was fun and campy lots of gore, but the end [shudders]. I’m not sure I’ll watch it again.

 

 

 

 

]]> 2228 The Grocer’s Son https://alicamckennajohnson.com/2015/03/the-grocers-son/ Fri, 20 Mar 2015 13:30:41 +0000 https://alicamckennajohnson.com/?p=2148 The Grocer's Son, Foreign Films, Alica McKenna Johnson
This French movie was sweet and funny. A son is forced into going home and helping out at his family’s grocery store in a small mountain town. The town is so sweet, and he packs a van every day to drive over the mountain to smaller villages and homes were people live alone.
I want this job. The views were beautiful, the people sweet, and quirky, and not willing to put with the son’s bad attitude.
Something happened to estrange the father and son—we never know what it is. They don’t have a big conversation and make everything better, but they do have a few small moments where they heal and learn to accept and maybe respect each other.
There is a bit of romance, but not so much I would call this a love story. It’s more of a young-man-gets-his-head-out-of-his-ass story 🙂

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