Thursday, September 4, 2014

Thursday Movie Picks: Movies Set Locally (North Carolina)


Hey folks! Here we are, once again, on Thursday, that beautiful day before the day before the weekend officially starts. It is on this day every week I suggest some movies based on theme selected by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves.

Let's pause for a second.

Join us. Swing over to Wanderer's site, check out the meme, and post your own Thursday Movie Picks. Do it.

Okay. Let's get back to it.

This week's theme is 'Movies Set Locally.' Here's the deal. It's up to the blogger to pick their own location.

Hmmm...

There were only three places I even thought of when I saw this topic. The first was Queens, New York, where I grew up. The second was Hawaii, where I lived for two years. Neither quite suited my fancy, so I went with my third choice: North Carolina, where I currently live. For those of you who don't do maps, yes, that is North Carolina in the pic at the top of the page. However, North Carolina has a tricky relationship with the movie making world. Tons of movies (and TV shows) come here to film, particularly to the city of Wilmington, but NC usually winds up as a stand-in for some other place. Wikipedia has a pretty good list of stuff that's filmed here. That means not a ton of movies are actually set here. Of course, there are some. These are my faves...


Kiss the Girls
(1997)
Here, Morgan Freeman plays detective Alex Cross, who usually does his work in Washington, D.C. This time he heads down to Durham, NC because his niece, a college student in the area, has been reported missing. Shortly, he joins forces with Kate (Ashley Judd), who managed to escape from being kidnapped, herself. The added bonus for me is that a number of scenes are set not far from where I live.


The Campaign
(2012)
Okay, so I'll admit this one isn't an all time great. Still, it's fun. The short story on it is that it covers the election for the congressional seat in North Carolina's (fictional) 14th district. The two candidates are Cam Brady (Will Ferrell), the incumbent and Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), who has literally been plucked from obscurity to run for office. Does this have lots of sharp, biting, wit? No. It did make me laugh, though. (Full Review Here)


Bull Durham
(1988)
I mean, how could this not be here? The math is simple. I'm a huge baseball fan. I'm obviously a movie buff. This is one of the greatest baseball movies ever made. This one follows the Durham Bulls, and more closely the team's catcher, Crash Davis (Kevin Costner). He strikes up a romance with local baseball groupie Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) and tries to mentor hot, young pitching prospect Nuke Laloosh (Tim Robbins). It's a movie that just works wonders every step of the way. I live within minutes of where the actual Bulls play, which is a gorgeous minor league park that they often fill up, by the way. Watching games there is a blast. If you're ever in Durham during the summer, check 'em out.


13 comments:

  1. Kiss the Girls was a very well done mystery thriller, the first of the Alex Cross series if I'm not mistaken? I always get it mixed up with Along Came a Spider.
    Anyway, throwing in The Campaign went to show you just needed a placeholder, I found bits of it enjoyable but man Will Ferrell's getting worse and worse as his acting career continues.
    Bull Durham for some reason I've missed all these years, as a baseball fan I'm going to have to keep an eye out for that one.

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    1. Okay, you got me on The Campaign. I did actually like it, though. My other big choice that probably should be here is Cape Fear. Sadly, I haven't seen either version. And yeah, Kiss the Girls was the first Alex Cross flick.

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  2. Great choices, and you've just reminded me of a film I wanted to see and missed, and then completely forgot about its existence - The Campaign!
    This has been a really interesting topic this Thursday :)
    - Allie

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  3. Hey, what a coincidence, I was in North Carolina just a few weeks ago, but I've never seen any of these movies.

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    1. Small world. Unfortunately, I can't say that I've ever been to Canada. Check em if you get the chance. Highly recommend the first and third. Save the campaign for when you're in a mood for something dumb and light.

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  4. The Campaign was... meh but how can anyone not love Bull Durham? George Washington by David Gordon Green was made in North Carolina as it's one of the most beautiful films ever made set in that state and about the South.

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    1. I keep hearing about GW. I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

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  5. Great idea for a Thursday Movie Picks Wendell! I like it when a blogger did something a bit personal in their post, like you linking the state you live in here.

    I haven't seen any of these movies though, but wow, Morgan Freeman has played quite a few detectives hasn't he? :D

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    1. Yes, he has. For an added bonus he played this one twice (Along Came a Spider). Thanks!

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  6. Oh I've watched the first two. The Campaign was ok. A few laughs. I haven't seen Kiss the Girls in a long time and I didn't even realise that Along Came a Spider was part of the series.
    Wandering through the Shelves

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    1. Yup. In case you missed it, there is a third movie simply titled "Alex Cross" with Tyler Perry in the titular role. However, I'm not at all suggesting you see it. It's bad. Watch "Bull Durham" instead.

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    2. Haha...that one I've heard...and how especially bad it is.
      Wandering through the Shelves

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