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April 29, 2023,
The previous year went by so fast.
The older you get, it always does.
Still, there are certain markers that help you remember where your head was, at certain moments.
There is nothing like female driven movies that help you remember why the previous year, now gone, was so eventful.
Here is what FCI Women’s Wrestling Magazine had to say about the film, The Weekend Getaway.
“Leighton Meester is a gorgeous American actress, singer, and model.
Leighton (left)
She is best known for her starring role as the devious socialite Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl on The CW (2007–2012).
Let’s focus on Leighton’s getaway movie.
Ironically titled “The Weekend Getaway”.
We sense we know what you are thinking, but remember, it is not a comedy at all.
The Weekend Away is a 2022 American thriller film directed by Kim Farrant from a screenplay by Sarah Alderson, based on Alderson’s 2020 novel of the same name.
It follows a woman named Beth (Leighton Meester), who travels to Croatia for a weekend getaway with her best friend Kate.
However, Kate suddenly goes missing and Beth is forced to figure out what happened to her.
Here is the storyline. More details.
London-based American new mother Beth flies to Croatia for a holiday with her best friend Kate. Beth confides that her marriage has hit a dull patch and that she is uncertain what to do.
They go clubbing and two men flirt with them. Kate suggests Beth have a one-night stand.
The next morning, Beth wakes up foggy about the night’s events and realizes Kate is missing.
Her husband Rob and the police are indifferent, but Zain, the taxi driver who drove them to the club, agrees to help. Beth recovers Kate’s purse and phone, and learns that the men from the club were escorts hired by Kate.
However, they are also con men who drug and rob the women they service.
Enough cloak and dagger for you?
Lots of twists and turns in this one and of course Leighton is the very surprised star of the story.
What we liked most is that the plot twists were believable.”
We saw the film too so we can vouch for what they say.
Here is what movie experts at rogerebert.com surmised, “Films like this live and die on the commitment of their lead performance and whether the audience roots for her to get out of this mess. Meester has always had an incredibly likable screen presence and the movie wisely sticks to her point of view throughout.”
Yes, very wise decision to focus on Leighton as the heroine. She made a fairly pedestrian Euro trip thriller turn into something more intriguing.
Here is another one for you. Watch it in the dark if you dare.
We weren’t sure where this one was headed.
It started out slowly, driving us down another direction and by the time we figured out where we were headed, it took us back in time, and believe us, we couldn’t wait to get back to the present.
Barbarian is a 2022 American horror thriller film written and directed by Zach Cregger in his solo screen writing and directorial debut.
The plot sees a woman find out that the rental home she reserved has been accidentally double-booked by a man, not knowing of a dark secret within the dwelling.
The man is acting strange and that creeps out our heroine until she finds out that he is not remotely the problem.
The intriguing aspect to this film is that it is like watching one film that gets absorbed into another one.
For us, this was truly a scary one and absolutely not for children.
It made 2022 movie watching tense.
And memorable.
Next up, surprise, surprise. In a very gritty great way.
Even though she and Emily in Paris, have the same first name, trust us, no two women named Emily could be more different.
Emily the Criminal is a 2022 American crime thriller film written and directed by John Patton Ford in his feature film debut.
It stars Aubrey Plaza, Theo Rossi, Megalyn Echikunwoke, and Gina Gershon.
It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2022, and was released in the United States on August 12, 2022, by Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions. It received generally positive reviews from critics for its social commentary and Plaza’s performance.
Social commentary?
After watching this quiet masterpiece, you will want to comment.
Here is the storyline.
Emily lives in Los Angeles and is deeply in debt (at least 70 grand).
She struggles to pay off her student loans, largely because a felony conviction prevents her from obtaining a well-paying job.
Consequently, she delivers food as an “independent contractor” (translation: low pay, no benefits) for a catering company.
A co-worker connects Emily to a “dummy shopper” service that promises to make her $200 in one hour.
The service is revealed to be a credit card fraud ring, and Emily meets Youcef, one of its organizers, who instructs her to purchase a flat-screen TV using a fake card and ID. The next day, Emily is sent on a larger job (purchasing a car on a no-limit credit card) which goes poorly after the dealer discovers the scam, leading to a physical altercation.
Guess what?
Innocent looking Emily survives a head bash and nose bleed and it changes her for good.
What captivated us about the film was how Emily figured out, as, in all fairness, so many of us don’t, that in this life, one person after another will take advantage of you, if they can.
If you let them.
And they don’t respect you for it.
They don’t feel sorry for you.
And, if you let them do it again. They will.
Her confrontations with Job Interviewers, are classic. Especially the one who wanted her to be an Intern, in a highly desirable position, for “free”.
For six months, for crying out loud.
Emily made it clear, in no uncertain terms, what she thought of her and the audacity to ask someone to work for free.
Emily’s position is, don’t be a victim.
The perpetrator is not the one to be afraid of.
You are.
What a concept.
And, she follows through on that philosophy in real and painful terms. The antagonists are either unwilling or unable to come back for seconds.
No matter what she does to them, we don’t feel sorry for them. We have met too many predators (with a soft smile) in our life and we didn’t impress upon them that we are the ones to be feared as Emily so brilliantly and violently did.
For emphasis, we didn’t, she did.
Congrats Emily. We learned much from you.
Loved this film. For us, it was by far the best of 2022.
So, 2022 is gone but these films will help us remember the wonderful celluloid distractions that the year presented that made 2022 more tolerable and entertaining.
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https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-weekend-away-movie-review-2022
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https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
