Monday, November 29, 2010

Monday Movies - Ticket to Paradise


Feature Presentation...
MONDAY MOVIE MEME



One wonderful aspect of some movies is their ability to transport us to a different place, to show us the wonder and beauty of other parts of our country and the world. They offer us a diversion or an escape from real life. Every now and then they also inspire us to explore beyond the "world" we know and live everyday. Here are some movies that made us add a state, city or country to our list of places to which we want to travel. Share on your blog movies that made you want to get up and go. Link your post back to The Bumbles Blog. If you don't have a blog, list your choices in the comment section of The Bumbles Movie post!

Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) starring Diane Lane and Sandra Oh. A recently divorced writer goes on vacation by herself (unexpectedly) and ends up buying a villa in Tuscany in Central Italy, refurbishing it and building a new and wonderful life for herself in a gorgeous setting.

Dancing at Lughnasa (1998) Directed by Pat O'Connor and starring Meryl Streep the movie, set in County Donegal, Ireland, is told from the viewpoint of a young boy growing up in a fatherless home with his mother and her 4 unmarried sisters in 1930's Ireland. This movie made me want to buy a cottage in a small Irish village!

The Secret of Roan Inish (1994) Written and directed by John Sayles and based on the book The Secret of Ron Mor Skerry by Rosalie K. Fry. The story, based on Irish folklore, takes place on the west coast of Ireland in a small fishing village near the island of Roan Inish and in Donegal. In the movie a young girl, Fiona, is sent to live with her grandparents and cousin, Eamon. Her grandfather tells stories about her family when they fled the island of Roan Inish and about her younger brother lost at sea as an infant and raised by selkies, seals who can shed their skins to become human. Fiona doesn't know what to think and tries making sense of all that she hears from her grandfather and the people in the village.
There are beautiful beach scenes and views of other more wild, less inhabited areas of Ireland not seen as often as sweet villages and cities of Galway and Dublin.

North by Northwest (1959) a suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. A man is mistaken for someone else and is pursued across the USA by agents of a mysterious organization who believe he wants to thwart their plans to smuggle government secrets out of the country. Traveling from Long Island to Chicago to South Dakota and Mount Rushmore mostly by train, there's much to see of the beautiful USA in this great film.

Sabrina (1995) A remake of the 1954 film this movie shows off the beauty of Paris in vibrant color. Directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Harrison Ford, Julia Ornomd and Greg Kinnear, a young woman, Sabrina, the chauffeur's daughter, has a big crush on David, the playboy-son of her father's wealthy employers. Dad sends her off to Paris to find herself, grow up and, fingers-crossed, forget her crush. Sabrina returns (I would have stayed!) a beautiful, sophisticated woman...but does she still have a crush on David?


National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) Directed by Amy Heckerling,this slap-stick comedy starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Dana Hill and Jason Lively is about a family who wins an all-expenses-paid European vacation on a TV game show. Although mishaps and misadventures ensue, there's no denying the amazing scenery and vistas on display. While laughing you'll be wishing you were there.

5 comments:

  1. You and I both had Tuscan Sun! Nothing wrong with that little fantasy is there?

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  2. I love Under the Tuscan Sun and North by Northwest

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  3. I love Under the Tuscan Sun - it's one of my favorites. I also love Sabrina - both the old and new but especially the new version. I'm also a sucker for Chevy Chase movies and especially the Christmas one.

    Hope you're doing ok - hugs.

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  4. I haven't seen the two Ireland ones, but Leap Year with Amy Adams made me want to go!

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