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2k Celebration ✧ Top 5 Comfort Movies (as voted by my followers) ↳ #4 Mamma Mia! (2008)

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MAMMA MIA! (2008) | dir. Phyllida Lloyd

Typical, isn’t it? You wait 20 years for a dad and then three come along at once.

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Comedy Movies

Mamma Mia!

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Musicals

Mamma Mia!

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Mamma Mia!

Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

Set on a colorful Greek island, the plot serves as a background for a wealth of ABBA songs. A young woman about to be married discovers that any one of three men could be her father. She invites all three to the wedding without telling her mother, Donna Sheridan , who was once the lead singer of Donna and the Dynamos. In the meantime, Donna has invited her back-up singers, Rosie Mulligan and Tanya Wilkinson.

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Review:

I saw this movie a little while ago but decided to re-watch it recently. Simply put, it's a feel-good film. I LOVE Abba so the music was 10/10, even though I'm not a huge huge fan of musicals. The casting was also phenomenal, as well as the costumes and location. Beautiful to watch. The storyline was a bit (very) cheesy though and sometimes didn't make complete sense. But I didn't mind so much because it was a cute film in general. I'd definitely watch it again.

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Secretariat Movie

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I love this movie

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Sunny's Library

Comedy Movies

Drama Movies

Musicals

Sports Movies

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Drama Movies

Secretariat

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Sports Movies

Secretariat

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Secretariat

Rating: 10/10

Synopsis:

Housewife and mother Penny Chenery agrees to take over her ailing father's Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery -- with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin -- manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in twenty-five years.

source

Review:

I saw this movie when it came out in theaters (2010) and I remember being in complete awe. My mom and I were running late so we didn't have time to get popcorn or anything. We snuck in right during the opening credits and took the first seats we could find, which were only a couple of rows back from the movie screen. We basically had to look up the entire time which wasn't our ideal situation but in regard to this movie, I thought it was perfect and the best way to experience Secretariat.

I re-watched the movie today with my mom in honor of the Preakness Stakes and it was just as good as I remember, maybe even better in some ways. As I've gotten older, I've grown to appreciate the art of movies more. I've also taken a couple college/graduate courses in movies to fulfill elective credits which has expanded my knowledge and increased my interest in them.

This movie wasn't a huge award winner and it had mixed reviews from critics. Some claimed it was predictable, which makes sense considering it's based on a true story (do people not know that?). Some claimed it was cheesy and similar to Hallmark movies. Some thought it was full of cliches and lacked character development and a decent written plot. To each their own.

There also were comments about how the film wasn't entirely realistic, which is true. Some things were altered. Most films based on true stories are, though, as it makes for better plots or viewings.

There was a lot of ground covered in 2 hours, the plot spanning over about 6 years or so. There were times when I didn't know what year it was but I felt the script did as good a job as it could have to provide those details. I'm not sure how they could have made it more in-depth without dragging it out, to be honest. Anything past 2 hours seems to be extremely hit or miss. So given the circumstances I wasn't put off by how they went about this.

I felt the characters had enough depth to add to the storyline. Of course part of me wished they went into more detail, such as with Penny's kids or with Eddie/Hollies/Miss Ham etc. but again, I'm not sure how feasible that would have been with the 2-hour time stamp.

I thought the cinematography and camera direction were very well done (I'm not a professional though so this is just a personal opinion). I felt the lighting and camera angles contributed to a sense of power and intensity consistent throughout the film. It also added warmth, joy, and comfort.

I thought the music selection and scores were also well done. Nick Glennie-Smith provides a selection of original scores for the film I thought added to the intensity of it and conveyed certain emotions words couldn't. I wish the scores were available via Spotify but I can only find them on YouTube. And of course the selection of songs chosen for this film were well done. The scene of Big Red, or Secretariat, rounding the corner at the Belmont Stakes is one of my all-time favorite scenes in cinematic history. The low camera angle, the lighting, the sounds of the horse followed by the chorus of "Oh Happy Day" all contributed to this euphoria feeling that's hard to replicate just by thought. Anything that can provoke that kind of emotion, in my opinion, is worthy of some kind of recognition.

Overall, I thought the film was an exciting watch. It's one of my favorites and one of my comfort movies. I thought it did a decent job of sticking close to the actual story (with the real Penny making an appearance) and it was able to portray a certain intensity and excitement that can be hard to achieve properly. It's worth a watch in my opinion :)

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Decided to watch Secretariat in honor of the Preakness Stakes and I FORGOT how good it is omg

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currently re-reading the hunger games series and I almost forgot how GOOD IT IS

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@pscentral event 15: favourite ships

when I dropped my sword, I threw it in the bushes and knocked on your door, and we live in peace

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Currently going through Florence Pugh's discography :,) I will probably make individual posts about the movies and then put them all together in a mini master list sooooooon