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Captain America: The First Avenger | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I was really excited for this one. This is my favourite origin story in the entire MCU, and my favourite trilogy. But while I watch the second and third movies a lot, I don't really go back to this one, so it was nice to see it on the list. And as usual, with every time I watch this movie, I loved it. It starts in a really interesting place, already setting up for the future of the franchise as well as laying the groundwork for the characters we'll be interested in for years to come. Speaking of characters, Steve Rogers is such a fascinating one. The film really gives us the opportunity to get to know exactly who he is and what his motivations are. Before he even starts to become a 'hero' we are rooting for him and invested in his story.  But of course, the characterisation makes it clear that he's a hero before he becomes one, and that's one of the reasons I love this story so much. Particularly looking at earlier superhero movies, for me Steve is one of the ...
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Love Hurts | Film Review

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  A real-estate agent (Ke Huy Quan) finds himself thrust back into the world of crime when his past as an assassin comes back to haunt him. I don't really know what made me watch this film, other than it being available. The premise was somewhat intriguing, but I'd heard a lot of not-great reviews, so it wasn't one that I was particularly hopeful about. So because of that, it wasn't a surprise that the film wasn't great. But that doesn't mean everything was bad. Marvin (Quan) was a great character to follow. He was fun, we could connect with him, and he's easy to root for. The action scenes were also great. But while they were well-choreographed and created, they didn't have any substance, and after a while they stopped adding anything to the story. The chemistry between Marvin and Rose (Ariana Debose) never felt right to me. They never seemed like love interests and they didn't work particularly well together. I wouldn't even really call this a ...
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Home Alone | 100 Movies Bucket List

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I saved this one for as long as possible, but as I'm getting closer to completing this year's bucket list, it was time. I don't usually watch Christmas movies outside of December, but I had to make an exception! And to be honest, I'll probably watch this again in the lead-up to Christmas anyway. I was really surprised to see this on the bucket list. It's definitely a classic, beloved movie, but you never really see Christmas movies (or any seasonal movies) considered classics in lists with the 'Godfathers' and 'Gone with the Winds' of cinema, so this was a really nice surprise. And a welcome one! It's always nice to have a comedy in amongst the dramas, and this year's bucket list had some great comedies. I love this film. It's a staple every Christmas and with good reason! First of all, the iconic cast.  We have Catherine O'Hara, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern and John Heard amongst an amazing supporting cast, and leading the film was 9-year...
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Caught Stealing | Film Review

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  After agreeing to take care of his neighbour's cat, Hank (Austin Butler) finds himself caught in a battle against a group of gangsters who threaten to destroy everything he loves. I heard about this when it came out but it wasn't high on my watch-list, for no other reason than I didn't really know what it was about. But I was vaguely interested in seeing it.  And I'm really glad I saw it because I loved this film! From the beginning of the film when I had no idea what was happening or where the story would go, I was so engrossed in the lives of these characters that it didn't matter what the plot was. All of the actors had great chemistry, whether negative or positive. We believe these relationships, we believe the love and the annoyance and the fear. We believe everything we're shown because these characters feel so real and authentic. We're along for the ride with them because we feel a connection with them, especially Hank. Because Butler was particular...
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The Whole Nine Yards | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I'd heard of this film, but I had no idea what it was about or who was in it, so I had no expectations when I saw it on the list. But after looking it up and seeing it was a comedy that starred Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry, I was looking forward to watching it! That being said, I wasn't completely sold on the plot. This took a while for me to get into. For a start, I was expecting it to be funnier than it was. Not only because of the cast, but because the director's other works include 'Clue' and 'My Cousin Vinny', both of which I absolutely loved and found really funny. The tone for this one however, particularly at the beginning, felt more like a drama. And not a drama that I was particularly invested in. There were a few funny moments throughout, but I wouldn't say the film is funny overall. I thought the cast were well suited to their roles, but oddly I didn't like the roles themselves. They all felt a bit too straight and obvious, there was ...
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Honey Don't! | Film Review

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  Private Investigator Honey O'Donahue (Margaret Qualley) investigates a series of deaths tied to a mysterious church in her small town. I loved 'Drive-Away Dolls', the first film in this unofficial trilogy, so I was looking forward to seeing this one. Both premises were quite vague, but because I loved that one so much, I was interested to see if this one would be similar. Unfortunately, this one wasn't nearly as good. While the characters were really fun and interesting on the surface, the more you watch and listen to them, the less they sound like real people. The dialogue is off, and their actions are just odd. I liked the setting, and the basic idea of the film. Small-town mysteries always have a lot of potential, and when executed well, can be really great, so it's disappointing that this one falls flat. The story takes a while to get interesting because we don't care about these people, let alone the people who die. This isn't a world we're intere...
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Dr. No | 100 Movies Bucket List

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  I've heard of all the James Bond movies, but the only one I've seen is the one that was on the bucket list last year - Casino Royale. And while I enjoyed that, it didn't make me want to watch any other movies in the franchise. So I can't say I was particularly excited to see this on the list.  However, as this one is the first, of course it's on a list of classic movies.  The score is iconic. I'm sure many of the movies use the same theme song moving forward, but it's great to experience it for the first time here because of how iconic it has become. Even if you know nothing of Bond, when you hear the score you immediately know what franchise it comes from.  It's interesting to see the way everything began. It's clear that things are being tried out and experimented with.  I can't say that the story itself grabbed me. It had engaging moments, but the overall plot wasn't one I was particularly interested in.  I also wasn't particularly i...
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