Watch Before You Go: London
Thursday's post got me nostalgic for London, and as it happens, Monday has me feeling nostalgic for any time I can park my ass in front of the TV and indulge in a little passive escapism. So today I bring you a "Watch Before You Go" guide to London. I've listed more than the usual amount because, well, a lot of great movies take place in London.
So what if it's practically a Colin Firth movie marathon? Let the sweet sounds of his beautiful British accent give your ears a break from your daily assault of American accents. Oi oi, mates!
LOVE ACTUALLY
Yes, this movie made my holiday list, but #sorrynotsorry. And yes, every feminist bone in my body is ashamed by how much I love this movie, but I do. I really do. Basic bitches be damned. Frankly, if you haven't seen it at this point, I am not sure how. But it's full of great shots of London and I could totally see myself sitting alongside the Thames discussing how much love sucks, just like baby Jojen Reed. Oh wait...Jen's no Liam Neeson, but maybe that did happen last year.
BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY
First off, kudos to the person who made sure that this movie was called "Bridget Jones's Diary" and not "Bridget Jones' Diary" (I guess credit is due to Helen Fielding's editor...good work). Yes, it is another classic chick flick, and yes, it is another Colin Firth movie. However, it's also funny as hell and relatable to, well, most women. Also, so much London. Such London.
THE KING'S SPEECH
This movie won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, and of course, said best actor is Colin Firth, but I swear this is the last Firth movie on the list. And these awards are well-deserved. It's about King George VI's struggle to overcome his stuttering in the 1930s and it's awesome to see what London must have been like in those times. Also, Helena Bonham Carter ftw!
SHERLOCK (BBC)
Not a movie, but goddamn I love me the BBC version of Sherlock Holmes. And besides, the episodes are so long, each one may as well be a movie. Gotta love BBC. Jen was all busy swooning over Benedict Cumberbatch and assured me that I'd see it if I watched "Sherlock." Well, I basically still think he looks like a bug and am still solidly Team Redmayne or Team Hiddleston, but I do think "Sherlock" is witty, smart, and addictive, and I can't wait for the next season.
MARY POPPINS
Obviously, total classic. Who knows how many times I watched it as a kid, and when I revisited it in my "adult"hood, I realized just how good it really is. The music is awesome, the characters are so wonderful, and I will always have a crush on Dick Van Dyke.
V FOR VENDETTA
As you may have guessed, I own more than my fair share of chick flicks. But I also have a strong penchant for guy movies like Quentin Tarantino films and movies based on comics and graphic novels (that I never read). So, I own and love "V for Vendetta," based on a graphic novel about a revolution in dystopian, fascist London in the future.
MATCH POINT
Woody Allen movies are hit-or-miss for me, but for some reason when I saw "Match Point" in college, I loved it (and not only because beautiful Jonathan Rhys Meyers is in it). Meyers plays a tennis pro in London who has an affair with crazy Scarlett Johansson and everything goes to shit, as you'd expect, except...not in the way you'd expect. It's quirky and dark and twisty and Woody Allen isn't even in it. Two thumbs up.
SWEENEY TODD
Well, I love all the fake Tarantino blood, so is it any surprise to you I love Sweeney Todd? Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, AND Johnny Depp?! Perfection. Plus...
There's a hole in the world like a great black pit
And the vermin of the world inhabit it
And its morals aren't worth what a pig can spit
And it goes by the name of London
I mean, I live in Baltimore, but those song lyrics just speak to me, you know? ;)
-Staci
