Thursday, May 28, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks: Mother-Son Relationships


Happy Thursday! I'm back for another edition of Thursday Movie Picks. It's a great weekly meme hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves. She provides us with a theme, we provide you with movies to watch. It's pretty much that's simple. There might be a little more to it. Just check out the link to her site to figure out the particulars.

This week's theme is Mother-Son Relationships. The one catch is that the two have to share a bloodline. No step-parents this time around.

No worries. And I'm in a twisted mood, today. Then again, when am I not?

Let's get to it, shall we?


Friday the 13th Franchise
(1980 - ???)
Mother and Son: Mrs. and Jason Voorhees
Unlike most movies you'll come across today, the mother and son in question never actually appear together at any point, to the best of my recollection. However, the entire franchise is overrun with their undying affection for one another. The first movie features Mrs. Voorhees doing whatever she can to stick up for her boy. The rest of the series is about that son's devotion to his mother's vision. He works diligently to carry on her life's work.


Requiem for a Dream
(2000)
Mother and Son: Sara and Harry Goldfarb
Here, we have the story of a mom who simply adores her little boy. In her eyes, he can do no wrong. However, she also wants to fit into one of her old dresses. Being the thoughtful young man that he is, Harry expresses his concerns over Mom's new diet.


 
Mother's Day
(2010)
Mother and Sons: Mother, Ike, Addley, and Johnny
Mother's three boys have decided to strike out on their own and take over the family business. When they hit tough times, Mother has to step back in to try and right the ship. We watch as this woman carefully nurtures her boys, fighting tooth-and-nail to keep the family unit together.


Check out the other 'All in the Family' posts in Thursday Movie Picks

21 comments:

  1. LOL I chose Friday the 13th too! Such a loving, devoted mother and son! Requiem for a Dream is a great pick, too.

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    1. Yes! You know what they say about great minds.

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  2. You're in a twisted mood? There's one sick choice even I couldn't go for and neither did you (will anyone?). Even sicker choice than Oldboy a few weeks ago. I toyed with Friday the 13th but decided against it, but its a good pick. Requiem for a Dream is such a tough, tough watch.

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    1. All jokes aside, Requiem is one of the scariest movies of all time. And it is a really tough watch. Curious about what that "too sick" choice might be. I'm racking my brain and haven't come up with anything.

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    2. The film is Incendies, but in all seriousness it's a brutally, sick twist, I mean I was in shock and completely devastated following the reveal. I was completely numb. For me, the reveal is one of the most hardest hitting moments I ever felt watching a film. It takes everything out of you, it is utterly gut-wrenching.

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    3. Hmmm...

      I have heard of it, but I've never seen it. Might have to check it out.

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    4. LOL, Indendies! I just saw that a few weeks ago as I was wrapping up my 2010 Fisti Awards...that twist...WTF!

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    5. If you want to watch it sometime over the next few weeks, we can talk about it a bit during our 2010 discussions on 4 Ways a Best Picture, since it was up against Biutiful and the ultimate Foreign Film winner, In a Better World.

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    6. Cool. I'll try to make that happen.

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  3. Another Friday the 13th! That's awesome, I think it fits this theme so perfectly. I haven't seen Mother's Day but I'm going to throw it in my Netflix queue now.

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    1. Just be warned. It's not a feel good story.

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  4. Love that you chose Requiem! Never heard of Mother's Day. Guess I should check that one out.

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    1. Requiem really is among my all time faves. Like I warned Britt, Mother's Day is not a feel good pic. It's urban, home invasion horror.

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  5. My goodness...dark this week! I'm not a slasher fan but the first Friday the 13th is a classic of its kind in a weird way and certainly fits well with the theme. Ellen Burstyn was amazing in Requiem but I hated that film so much. Have never heard of Mother's Day so I looked it up and saw Rebecca De Mornay plays the mother, haven't seen her in years. I'll be checking it out.


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    1. Odd that I would go dark, because I really have a great relationship with my mom. As for DeMornay, imagine if her character in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle really became a mother.

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    2. I had a feeling that the mother Rebecca D. was playing ran along those lines. Should be fun. Well you are not alone with the darkness, it seems everybody went in that direction for some reason this week. I did two dramas and two comedies and so far I haven't seen any other lighter fare show up. I'm also kind of shocked that I haven't seen my bonus pop up since the whole subject of the film is the mother/son dynamic. I made it my bonus because I thought it would be everywhere.

      I meant to include them before but forgot to attach them so here you go now:

      Beautiful Thing (1996)-Wonderful tale of two youths in working class London and their slow realization as they discover their true natures and fall in love. One, Ste, lives with his abusive father and brother but the other, Jamie, lives with his extremely direct and down to earth mother. Their sometimes combative but always strong relationship is a key factor in the film beautifully played by Linda Henry and Glenn Berry and all set to a great Mama Cass Elliott soundtrack.

      I Could Go On Singing (1963)-Despite being a world famous singer Jenny Bowman played by Judy Garland is lonely and adrift. During an engagement in London she visits an old love, Dr. David Donne played by Dirk Bogarde, with whom she had a son years before. Having relinquished the boy, Mark, with the agreement that David and his wife would raise him as their adopted son, never letting him know his true paternity. However David is now a widower and Mark is living at boarding school. Jenny requests to see him and despite some reservations David allows the visit with a reminder of her promise. Secret mother and son hit it off and while visiting Jenny invites them both to her opening night and again with some trepidation David accepts but then is called away to an emergency in Rome. While he is gone Jenny attempts to forge a relationship with Mark...but will she be able to keep her promise? Not a musical but a drama with musical performances. This was Judy's last film, she and Bogarde have an incredible scene near the end that the two rewrote to make it more impactful, and while not looking her best she's in full command of her talents which she amply demonstrates.

      The Mating Season (1951)-A mother who wants to help her only son allows his new wife to think she's the maid to help them out and not interrupt their "mating season". He objects but she tells him it's this way or she leaves for parts unknown and he reluctantly goes along. Because of their close relationship everything goes along fine at first but then the wife's snobbish mother comes to stay with them and things get rocky. The film is fill of sly humor and terrific performances by all but the real standout is Thelma Ritter as the mother, she was Oscar nominated (in support but she's the lead) and this is the role she should have won for. A real hidden treasure.

      Honorable Mention-Mother (1996)-A neurotic writer (Albert Brooks) moves back in with his mother (Debbie Reynolds) after his second marriage falls apart to try and figure out what's at the root of his problems with personal relationships. Their sometimes contentious usually humorous interchanges, you’ll learn terribly useful things like freezer burn is really just a protective ice coating that must be removed to get to the perfectly good food trapped beneath it!, provide the crux of the story. Debbie drives the film with a warm, non-jokey turn in one of her best performances.


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    3. I haven't seen any of your picks. They all sound really interesting, especially Mother. I have seen the Korean movie titled Mother, but the plot is far different. Hope to check this version out, soon.

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  6. Requiem for a Dream -- great choice!

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  7. I expected someone to go the more horror route; there are many twisted relationships in movies.

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