Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

W is for Will Scarlett

I really like the story of Robin Hood and pretty much any iteration of it. The whole stealing from the rich to give to the poor and people to coming together thing are tropes or themes that I love. Like the story, I tend to really like Will Scarlett in any version.

My favourite Robin Hood adaptation is Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and that has my favourite Will Scarlett. What I love about this Will Scarlett here is his attitude and his backstory.

Personality-wise, Will is impulsive and cocky and jealous. Not really the nicest qualities but he’s also pretty charming and a skilled fighter. Plus, when you learn his backstory his attitude towards Robin makes so much sense as it’s easy to understand where all his resentment came from. I especially like how once Robin knows Will is his younger half-brother, he wants to protect him and not put him in danger, and Will’s like “You shot me in the hand, I think you don’t get to tell me what’s dangerous.”

The dynamics between Will and the other Merry Men are great but it’s that push and pull relationship he has with Robin, both before and after everyone knows they’re brothers that’s really fun.

TOP TEN TUESDAY: The Ten Movies I Can Watch Over and Over Again

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature run by BrokeAndBookish each week. This week is a movie freebie so you can write about whatever you like, top ten all time favorite movies, top ten foreign films, top ten rom-coms, whatever! I thought this would be the perfect time to talk about the films I can watch over and over again and no matter how many times I watch it I never get bored.

lord of the rings elenasquareeyesThe Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003)
So while obviously The Lord of the Rings is actually three film I count the trilogy as one since it is one big story. Every December, as close to Christmas Eve as I can get it, I rewatch the entire trilogy in a day. It’s a little tradition I’ve been doing for over ten years and I can’t wait till it’s December and I can watch Lord of the Rings.

 

The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001)the mummy elenasquareeyes
I count these two as one film too because they follow so well from one another – plus there’s no third film. These films feature one of my favourite fictional couples and my favourite fictional family ever! The O’Connell-Carnahan’s with Ardeth Bey are just the best! The Mummy and The Mummy Returns are so much fun and full of adventure and I could never get bored of watching them.

legally blonde elenasquareeyesLegally Blonde (2001)
Elle Woods is a feminist icon and so is Legally Blonde. Whenever I see Legally Blonde is on TV I always end up watching it, I can quote so many lines and I adore the soundtrack. Elle Woods makes me want to work harder and to be the best I can be and I love getting that feeling every time I rewatch this film.  (more…)

Remembering Alan Rickman

I’d just got back to the car after going shopping this morning when I heard the news that Alan Rickman had died. I was waiting for my mum to pay the parking ticket so was scrolling through Twitter as you do when I saw all the Tweets. It must have been just as the news broke because a lot of them were linking to news articles and were general displays of shock. I couldn’t really believe it either.

I was born in 1991 and grew up watching Alan Rickman. One of my mum’s favourite films (so therefore it became one of my favourites and a formative influence) was Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Alan Rickman was a fantastic, over the top and evil Sheriff of Nottingham. He had the best lines, stole every scene he was in and was more than a match for Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood. I love that film and it’s one that I’ll always watch whenever it’s on TV.

My next “proper” exposure to Alan Rickman was in the Harry Potter films. I was definitely a part of the Harry Potter generation, I remember starting to read Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone in 2001, just after me and my mum had moved into our new home after my parents had divorced. I loved the books and then loved the films. Some actors were perfectly cast in those films and Alan Rickman as Severus Snape was one of them. He was foreboding and intimidating but when it came to showing the softer side to Snape in the later films he was equally brilliant.

And then there’s the other performance that I will always think of when I think of Alan Rickman – Metatron in Dogma. I watched Dogma for the first time at University, I think I watched it so I could reference in in a film essay but I loved it way more than I thought I would. Rickman’s deadpan delivery and air of boredom when it comes to the ridiculousness he’s found himself involved in are wonderful.

There’s obviously many more roles that Alan Rickman will be remembered for but those three are what made him special to me. I can’t help but feel very sad at his passing, maybe it’s also the sadness from David Bowie’s death is hitting me now as well. To lose two such great and influential people in the space of a week is heart-breaking and a sign of our mortality.

RIP Alan Rickman, thanks for being so amazing.

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Favourite Childhood Films

I saw this Childhood Film Blogathon hosted by LetsGoToTheMovies7 via Twitter and I just had to take part. My favourite films from my childhood aren’t all necessarily child-friendly but I still love these films today and the majority of them I watch over and over again. I managed to keep it to my five favourite childhood films but there are a few honourable mentions at the end.

robin_hood_prince_of_thievesRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
This film! When you say “Robin Hood” Kevin Costner and this film is what immediately comes to mind. I love the action, I love the love story and how Marion is pretty strong and resourceful, I love the humour and I love all the relationships between all the characters – especially Robin and Azeem.

Sister Act (1992)MPW-18604 (1)
Sister Act is just so much fun! I love Whoopi Goldberg in it, I love all the characters and the songs are great too. My favourite moment is when the choir suddenly switched from a traditional sound to a more upbeat style and everyone’s shocked. I’ll still watch Sister Act whenever it’s on TV.

-VXODjrW5gbxPretty Woman (1990)
A film about a prostitute probably wasn’t the most child-friendly film to grow up watching but oh well! This film started my love of Julia Roberts and today I can quote so much of it. “Slippery little suckers” and “Big Mistake. Big. Huge!” are a part of my everyday lexicon.

Ghost (1990)MPW-53146
This is another film that I’ll still watch today whenever I see it on TV. In a weird way I think it taught me about heaven and hell or at least the different things that could happen to you if you were good or bad. The shadow monsters and the sounds they made as they dragged a person away really scared me as a child but it was the trio of Patrick Swayze, Whoopi Goldberg and Demi Moore that made me love the film – especially the humour from Whoopi Goldberg.

MV5BMTk1MDUzMTQ3OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDAwNTk0NA@@._V1_SX640_SY720_Robocop (1987)
This really isn’t a child-friendly film. It’s rated 18, is incredibly violent and has a lot of shooting and blood. I’m pretty sure my mum would start the film for me after Murphy had become Robocop because him getting shot to near death is not something you want a five year old watching. I don’t watch Robocop much as an adult but I do still like the story a lot.

Honourable mentions go to Dirty Dancing (1987) my mum used to lift my like Patrick Swayze lifted Jennifer Grey when I was little, 101 Dalmatians (1996) for being the first film I remember seeing at the cinema, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) for making me know Arnold Schwarzenegger as Arnold Schwarzekitty, and The Lion King (1994) my favourite animated Disney film.

R is for: Favourite Films Beginning with the Letter R

(You can tell the days/letters I have trouble thinking of a topic – this is what happens) So without further ado here are my favourite films beginning with the letter R!

Remember the Titans (2000)IMG-20140421-00976
I have a bit of a soft spot for sports movies and this is one of my favourites. I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a film starring Denzel Washington and Remember the Titans is definitely one of my favourites. It’s a wonderful snapshot of history as well as having some great American football matches that pulls you in.

RocknRolla (2008)
Love this film so much! It has some of the best characters ever and I love heist/gangster movies and RocknRolla fits the bill. It’s funny, smartly filmed and just brilliant. (I thought I had my DVD here at Uni with me but when looking at my shelf realised I must have left it at home – now I’m sad.)

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