On the 4th Day of Christmas...

.. this blogger gave to thee...

... four favoured films...

... three rosy bubbles...

... two iterations...

... and a tale for tugging heart strings.

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Welcome to a very late day four of the 12 Days of Christmas. Now normally, after the hectic run up to Christmas, the whirlwind insanity of Christmas Day and (at least in my family) the almost equal insanity of boxing day, all any of us really want to do is sit around, vegetate and watch movies until New Years.

It rarely works out this way, but movies do play a huge part in the holidays and allowing ourselves to unwind.

Which is why for day four, I'm going to share some of my favourite movies, but they're ones which are probably not as well known, had little fanfare when they were released and aren't necessarily everyone's cup of tea. But given I'd rather watch any of these over films like the Fast & The Furious franchise, I think I'm in the minority. This post probably also would have made more sense when we were all enjoying time off during the holidays, rather than as everyone's heading back to work and normality, but they're still movies worth watching and worth sharing with other people. So here we go...

If there's any movie on this list you try and seek out - and it's not easily found - I think it should probably be Rudderless (2014).

Starring: Billy Crudup, Anton Yelchin, Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Selena Gomex & Laurence Fishburne

After the sudden death of his son, Sam (Billy Crudup), in his grief leaves his high-profile job, drops out of society and sinks into alcoholism. Two years later, he's removed himself from his former life and is living on a houseboat, drinking away his spare time. On returning home one day, he is confronted by his ex-wife (Felicity Huffman), who has brought him some of their sons belonging, music being their shared passion, it contains CDs, music, instruments and his sons song. After he's listened to them, Sam decides to play them at an open mic night, where he catches the attention of Quentin (Anton Yelchin) a young musician who persuade Sam to join his band and play more of his sons songs, because they're good and people should hear them.

Rudderless is a story of a father working himself out of the pit of grief through music and coming to terms with the tragic circumstances surrounding his sons death.

The music is wonderful. It's heartfelt and emotional, and it seems to have gone by unnoticed.

The directorial debut for actor William H. Macy, Rudderless is one of those movies that I instantly fell in love with partly because of the music, partly because it's such a well told and moving story. I can't find it for you on streaming sites, and it's nearly impossible to find on DVD unless you're in America, but you can buy or rent it through iTunes, Amazon Prime or YouTube, if you fancy watching it.

Link || Rudderless (2014) || IMDb || Wikipedia || Rotten Tomatoes || iTunes || Amazon Prime || YouTube

Again, The Pretty One (2014), isn't a movie I think a lot of people will have heard of, and frankly I'd not have have known about if I wasn't a fan of Zoe Kazan, and after seeing Ruby Sparks (2012), watched the trailer and sought it out. Honestly, there are three other Zoe Kazan movies I could have put in this list including Ruby Sparks (2012), What If (2013) and In Your Eyes (2014), which I love, but I thought I should limit myself to one.

Starring: Zoe Kazan, Jake Johnson, John Carroll Lynch and Ron Livingston

Audrey and Laurel are identical twins (Zoe Kazan), but couldn't be less alike. Audrey is confident and successful, she has a high paying job, friends and a sophisticated lifestyle that her sister, Laurel, can only dream about. Laurel, in contrast to her sister, is awkward, childlike and painfully shy, but idolises her sister and her life. Returning home for their fathers wedding, Audrey persuades Laurel into a makeover, only to end up looking more alike than ever. So alike that when their car is hit by an oncoming truck as they drive home, tragedy and confusion strikes.

Waking up in hospital, Audrey is told that Laurel died in the crash. Except she didn't, suffering from post-traumatic amnesia, Laurel only realises the mistake the day of the funeral, but instead of confessing, she takes the chance to reinvent herself and become the sister she idolised and start her life over.

It sounds like it should be a terribly story. Identity theft to the worst degree, a twin taking on the life of the other, but it's a sweet film. It's about a girl who's so wrecked and stunted by shyness that she's never been able to start her life, and in a moment of grief and madness, she makes a rash decision which turns her life upside down.

There are parts of the movie that really resonate with me, being a shy hermit myself, but there's humour and lightness, and Jake Johnson (from New Girl) being adorable and crush worthy only adds to the reasons I call this film one of my favourites. Which, I realise I'll say about almost all of these movies, but they wouldn't have made the short list if they weren't.

In case you're interested, links to rent the movie below. It used to be on Netflix, but left a while ago, and frankly it's almost as cheap to buy the DVD as to rent it... I never quite understand the point in that one. But if it sounds good I hope that's made finding it easier.


Link || The Pretty One (2013) || IMDb || Wikipedia || Rotten Tomatoes || iTunes || Amazon Prime || YouTube

When you hit a certain age, you're meant to have moved out of home, got a job, found a partner, become an adult and built a life. Adult Life Skills (2016) is a film about having none of that.

Starring: Jodie Whittaker, Lorraine Ashbourne, Brett Goldstein, Edward Hogg & Ozzy Myers

Anna (Jodie Whittaker) is stuck. After the death of her twin brother Billy (Edward Hogg), she retreated into herself and now, as she approaches thirty, she's living life as a hermit in the shed at the bottom of her mums garden, avoiding all responsibility and instead makes videos with her thumbs as the lead actors. But they're just for her.

A week before her birthday, her mum serves her an ultimatum, that she needs to move out, get a haircut and stop dressing like a homeless teenager, and while she tells her mum to back off, it's hard not to feel left behind and isolated when your friends come home to visit and you're left looking after your sick neighbours kid.

The film, based the short film "Emotional Fusebox" by Rachel Tunnard, is about Anna getting out of her rut, a thing that isn't easy to do. The film doesn't necessarily let her do this easily, if at all, but it's about the process.

It's a slow, quiet movie with way too many themes for me at least to relate too, but I still love this movie, and recommend it, and I think Jodie Whittaker is brilliant. It's also wonderfully British in its sense of humour.

Maybe not such a great recommendation for the hermits among us, or at least, choose carefully when you watch it, I don't want to be responsible for a meltdown. Links below.


Link || Adult Life Skills (2016) || IMDb || Wikipedia || Rotten Tomatoes || Twitter || Facebook
|| YouTube || iTunes || Amazon Prime

A lot of the movies I'm putting on this list have slightly more serious overtones, mostly in relation to being shy, reclusive and antisocial due to the death of a loved one, whilst also being sweet and funny.

Mr. Right (2015) is just pure and utter fun. (And if you have Netflix, unlike the others it's there for the taking!)

Starring: Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick, Tom Roth, James Ransone & Anson Mount.

The day after breaking up with her cheating boyfriend, Martha (Anna Kendrick), spends the day with her friend, trying to keep herself busy, but on her way home she stops at a convenience store and, while throwing a display stand full of condoms in the air, bumps into Francis (Sam Rockwell). While he's instantly attracted to her quirkiness, she's attracted to his ability to catch things. They decide to go on a date and spend the day together. He appear to be perfect, Mr. Right, and he's been honest about everything with her, so when he tells her he is a hit man and kills people for a living, why wouldn't this be the one hilarious lie?

Francis is in fact a hit man with morals, instead of killing the intended target, he kills the people who have hired him and now Martha is messed up in it and in the sight-lines of not only a criminal cartel who are pissed at him, but his ex-boss who is really pissed at him. Mayhem of course ensues.

Kendrick is hilariously hyperactive in the way only Anna Kendrick can be...

... and Rockwell is Sam Rockwell at his comedic best. Simultaneous the man can be ridiculously funny, stupid, smooth and cool, and as a side recommendation for this particular actor, go watch The Way Way Back (2013) because it's not only a great film, but it's also another good example of Sam Rockwell's ability to be way too cool at the same time as being a complete dork.

In Mr. Right, they're both just having fun and it's why I like both of these actors, and why this film, which is not necessarily the most brilliant, is so enjoyable.

It's dumb fun. Which let's face it, is more often than not what most of us would rather sit down and watch of an evening than intellectual filmography.


Link || Mr. Right (2015) || IMDb || Wikipedia || Rotten Tomatoes || Netflix || iTunes || Amazon Prime || YouTube



Films at Christmas are about relaxing and enjoying a couple of hours of not thinking about work, or the woes of life or dealing with playing host/hostess to family and friends. It's about turning off your brain. Maybe these won't be your cup of tea, maybe they will, but as long as I can sit down and enjoy them, they're worth sharing with other people.


Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Part five soon...

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Listening: So This Is Christmas - John Lennon