Film 2456 - Legally Blonde

Intro: Back to when I was still seeing Luke, on Patty's Day we decided to watch his favourite movie.

Film 2456: "Legally Blonde" (2001), Robert Luketic
Watched: From the TV
Language: English
Watched with: Luke
Thoughts: The more I watch this movie, the more I enjoy it. Back in the day, I think it was considered just a "silly" romcom, but nowadays it has gained cult status — and rightfully so.
Reese Witherspoon's performance as Elle Woods is perfect. She embodies the character in such a unique way; she was truly meant to play this part, and it definitely helped launch her career.
"Legally Blonde" is more than just a chick flick, and I think time has proven that. When it first came out, although it was a huge financial success, received accolades, and became part of pop culture, I still think it was viewed as a film made for young girls — just another comedy centered around romance and not much else. Movies like this one, "Mean Girls" or "Clueless", all proved to be much more than that, establishing legacies that would have been hard to predict 20+ years ago. Rewatching these movies all these years later and realizing how funny, entertaining, and well made they still are is not just a pleasure, but also a testament to their lasting value and legacy.
Film 887 - La rivincita delle bionde
Film 2261 - Legally Blonde
Film 2456 - Legally Blonde
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber, Jennifer Coolidge, Holland Taylor, Ali Larter, Oz Perkins, Linda Cardellini, Raquel Welch.
Box Office: $142 million
Worth a watch?: Always a fun watch. If you've never watched it, give it a chance — it's funny, enjoyable, and Reese Witherspoon's performance is iconic..
Awards: 2 Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Musical or Comedy (Reese Witherspoon). 3 MTV Movie & TV Awards wins (Best Comedic Performance, Best Line, and Best Dressed all for Witherspoon) over 5 nominations (Best Movie, Best Female Performance)
Key word: Perm.
Trailer
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Bengi

Film 2455 - Get Out

Intro: I actually forgot Niamh and I watched this while in Fuerteventura. This was my homework for the Screenwriting course I took earlier this year, and our lecturer asked us to watch the film and be ready to talk about it for the next class.

Film 2455: "Get Out" (2017), Jordan Peele
Watched: From my laptop
Language: English
Watched with: Niamh
Thoughts: To think that I didn't necessarily love this movie the first time I watched it... is crazy!
The more I rewatch it, the more I enjoy it, really. I think it's such a smart film and script, especially refreshing for when it came out. Daniel Kaluuya's performance is amazing, perfectly summed up by the scene on the couch. And Jordan Peele rightfully won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the twisted, compelling work he did here. The social commentary and irony his story brings up are so well crafted and perfectly executed that "Get Out" is a pleasure to rewatch every time.
Film 1378 - Scappa: Get Out
Film 1625 - Get Out
Film 2455 - Get Out
Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root, LaKeith Stanfield, Lil Rel Howery, Catherine Keener.
Box Office: $259.8 million
Worth a watch?: A really, really good psychological horror film that should be on everyone's list of movies not to miss.
Awards: 4 Oscar nominations (Best Picture, Director, and Actor for Kaluuya), it won for Best Original Screenplay. 3 BAFTA nominations for (Best Actor in a Leading Role for Kaluuya, Best Original Screenplay) it won for Rising Star (Kaluuya). 2 Golden Globe nominations (Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Kaluuya). 7 nominations at the MTV Movie & TV Awards (Movie of the Year, Best Actor in a Movie, Best Villain, Best Duo, and Best Fight Against the System), it won for Best Comedic Performance (Lil Rel Howery) and Next Generation (Kaluuya). 2 Actor Awards nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Kaluuya).
Key word: Photos.
Trailer
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Bengi

Film 2454 - Wuthering Heights

Intro: Straight to the movies again, this time to watch the talk of the Winter season.

Film 2454: "Wuthering Heights" (2025), Emerald Fennell
Watched: At the movies
Language: English
Watched with: Niamh, Debbi
Thoughts: I love "Promising Young Woman", and I like the boldness of "Saltburn", so I came into this with a naive sense of tranquility. I mean, the reviews weren't spectacular, but considering the many 'controversies' regarding the costumes, the quotation marks, and the actors (two Australians playing British characters), I thought it was more of a PR stunt than an actual issue with the movie. Boy, was I wrong.
I'll be completely honest: I really didn't like this movie. Not from an aesthetic point of view, nor from a purely plot standpoint. I thought it was mostly boring and visually daring just for the sake of it, which is never good.
The costumes didn't make sense to me. I appreciate when a movie goes bold and switches things up visually, but here it all seemed geared toward shock value rather than a genuine stylistic choice. Also—and this is just my personal opinion—I didn't like the costumes per se; they felt like a mix-and-match, not particularly inspired. It seemed like they decided early on that the movie should be daring and provocative, but when it came time to actually plan and execute it, the whole vision fell apart and they had to save face somehow.
Same issue with the interior design: it looks interesting from afar, but the moment you start focusing on the details, things stop making sense—especially in combination with the costumes.
Additionally, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi didn't do it for me. Their accents are all over the place and seem to change from scene to scene.
Personally, I didn't enjoy the plot much either. I was never a fan of the novel, if I'm being honest, so there's definitely some bias on my part.
All in all, I was very disappointed with this movie. It could have been such a cool project; instead, it's a messy patchwork that never fully comes together.
Cast: Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Alison Oliver, Martin Clunes, Ewan Mitchell, Owen Cooper.
Box Office: $242 million
Worth a watch?: If you're a fan of Fennell's work, I think you should still watch this. I didn't like it, but this is clearly a very personal interpretation of the story and another entry in her filmography that shouldn't be missed. Personally, I would have preferred a bit more Charli XCX.
Awards: /
Key word: Wedding.
Trailer
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Bengi

Film 2453 - O Agente Secreto

Intro: Finally back to the movies—it's still Oscars time, and we decide to go and watch this film before it leaves theaters.

Film 2453: "O Agente Secreto" (2025), Kleber Mendonça Filho
Watched: At the movies
Language: Portuguese, German
Watched with: Niamh, Debbi
Thoughts: I haven't seen many Brazilian movies in my life, so it was inevitable that I would compare this one to the one I watched a year ago, which was also nominated for multiple Oscars. The thing is, "O Agente Secreto" is not "Ainda Estou Aqui".
There are things I really enjoyed about this film: Wagner Moura, for one, is amazing. I think I saw him in previous American endeavours like "Elysium" and "Civil War", but I can't really say I remember his performances there. "The Secret Agent" was my real introduction to his work, and my oh my, I was impressed. I knew he didn't have a shot at winning Best Actor at the Oscars, but his is definitely one of my favourite performances from last year.
Furthermore, this is a very compelling story, especially for someone like me with no prior knowledge of Brazilian history. Once you get into the groove of the plot and how it’s told, once you figure out what the whole hairy leg situation is about, you do get invested. And here’s my biggest problem with this film: it's really hard to follow the story.
I know it might sound contradictory considering what I just said, but I found it really, really hard to follow everything that was going on—the time jumps, events I know nothing about, the number of characters, reading between the lines while also keeping up with subtitles, the three Wagner Moura characters... it’s a lot. Not even Debbi—who was born and raised in Brazil and lived there until 2023—knew about the leg thing and had to google it to understand what it meant (apparently it was a form of satire used in newspapers to call out shady police work back in the day, or at least that’s what she told me). I also had to check the plot on Wikipedia afterwards because I wasn’t sure about some parts (I should disclose that I fell asleep at one point, right at the pivotal moment of the sofa conversation where he's recording testimony about Ghirotti's corrupt activities. So yeah, that didn’t help).
Overall, I think "O Agente Secreto" is a good movie, but too chaotic for a story so complex and rich in detail and historical references that I knew nothing about. A more straightforward plotline would have definitely helped me grasp what I was watching without having to rely on the internet for a recap or further explanation. I'm not saying the story should have been simplified for international audiences, but at least for me, a more linear narration would have made a difference. And I know comparisons aren’t always fair, but the emotional impact that "Ainda Estou Aqui" had on me didn’t quite carry over here.
Cast: Wagner Moura, Carlos Francisco, Tânia Maria, Robério Diógenes, Alice Carvalho, Gabriel Leone, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Udo Kier.
Box Office: $22.5 million
Worth a watch?: Not an easy watch. The plot is dense (from Wikipedia: "It follows Armando (Wagner Moura), a former professor caught in political turmoil during the Brazilian military dictatorship, attempting to flee persecution.") and the screenplay doesn’t make it particularly easy to follow what’s going on—or at least that was my experience. Wagner Moura delivers a performance for the ages and proves he’s a superstar.
Awards: 4 Oscar nominations (Best Picture, Actor, Casting, and International Feature Film). 2 BAFTA nominations (Best Original Screenplay and Film Not in the English Language) and 2 Golden Globe wins (Best Foreign Language Film, Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama) over 3 nominations (Best Motion Picture – Drama). Nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2026 César Awards. The movie competed for the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2025, where it won 4 awards (FIPRESCI Prize, Prix des Cinémas Art et Essai, Best Director, and Best Actor).
Key word: Hairy leg.
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Bengi