10 feel good movies

We all have those days where we feel like curling up in a ball and hiding from the rest of the world. Those days when nothing is going your way and you just don’t feel yourself.

Whether you have heard some bad news, someone has hurt you or it could even be as simple as the rain putting a frown on your day. Sometimes you just want to escape away from it all and indulge in a world which isn’t your own. So I’ve compiled this luscious list of movies (in no particular order) to press play to when those days are draining and you need a little cheering up. Turning that frown upside down and making you smile your way back to your luscious self!

These feel good movies always work to raise my moods so I hope they take care of yours too!!

1. Crazy. Stupid. Love. Julianne Moore and of course the lovely Ryan Gosling – need I say anymore? He took our breaths away in the notebook (also below) and now he has gone and done it all over again. This is a movie that understands love because it understands pain. If you don’t find it funny surely drooling over Ryan Gosling will make it all OK and entertaining and “seriously it’s like he’s been photo shopped”.

2. White Chicks - What could be more entertaining than two American comedians dressing up as white chicks? This will have  your sides splitting and wanting more. Perfect for that cosy DVD night in with the girlies.

3. Shawshank Redemption  - Tells the remarkable story of a man (Andy Dufresne) who was wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife and her lover. The film shows how Andy learns to get by in brutal prison life, earning the respect of his fellow in mates and mainly long term in mate Red" Redding (Freemans). – “Get busy living or get busy dying!”

        4. The Hangover – Starring five funny actors including Bradley Cooper makes this one a must see and a repeat every now and then when you need a good laugh. Hilarious from start to finish. Explores the adventure of a stag doo which no-one can remember only by reflecting back on the photographs of the night before.

        5. Bridesmaids – Similar to the Hangover, only the female version so of course we can relate so much more. This movie will have your sides sides splitting and perfect for that girly night.

       6. Grown Ups – This movie tells the story of five childhood friends

        The notebook – tearjerker

6.     Pretty Woman

Bridget Jones Diary just never gets old

Luscious Lifers who love period films will adore the British 7-part TV series, "Downton Abbey". I only just discovered it, so am a few months behind. It was screened in the UK in 2010 so should be coming to a TV station near you soo, or you can just buy it from Amazon (it's worth it!).

Starting in 1912, it follows the family and staff of the Earl of Grantham who live at Downton Abbey in the glorious English countryside (Highclere Castle in Hampshire, in real life). It's Edwardian lusciousness galore, with frocks, scenery and beautifully-portrayed relationship development.

Created and written by Oscar-winning Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park), it stars Hugh Bonneville, Dame Maggie Smith, and Elizabeth McCormack, Penelope Wilton, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, Lesley Nicol, Siobhan Finneran, Rob James Collier, Joanne Froggatt and Rose Leslie, and many others.

The period just before WW1 and until just after WW2 is my favourite time in history. So much happened, especially the changing of society in a fast and radical fashion, so I only wish I could have written this series myself.

It feels like "Brideshead Revisited" (TV and film) meets "Pride and Prejudice" meets "Upstairs Downstairs", all wrapped up into one. Viewing heaven!

See more from the official ITV website, or read about it on IMDB and Wikipedia.

See our Downton Abbey photo gallery, as well as our English Country House style in the 1920s and 30s for more gorgeous pix. And buy the DVD from Amazon (which will give Luscious a few cents too!).

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We're loving the new TV series of Nikita starring the delicious Maggie Q. We loved the original film and TV series, as well as the Bridget Fonda re-make, The Assassin/Point of No Return, and the Jennifer Garner TV version, Alias.

Perhaps it's a secret desire to be a mercurial, jetsetting, Ninja-like, arse-kicking assassin??

Here is the official website on the CW and the IMDB and Wikipedia pages for the show, plus Maggie Q's profile on Wikipedia and IMDB.

It also stars Shane West as Michael, Lyndsy Fonseca as Alex,  Ashton Holmes as Thom  Tiffany Hines as Jaden, Melinda Clarke as Amanda, Aaron Stanford as Birkhoff and Xander Berkeley as Percy.

Check out some pix, below, as well as our more extensive photo gallery.

Catch up on your female assassins:

Nikita (1990 movie) starring Anne Parillaud

• Wikipedia
• IMDB
• Nikita on Amazon

Point of No Return aka The Assassin (1993 movie) starring Bridget Fonda

• Wikipedia
• IMDB
• Point of No Return on Amazon

La Femme Nikita (1997 TV series) starring Peta Wilson

• Wikipedia
• IMDB
• La Femme Nikita on Amazon

Alias (TV series) starring Jennifer Garner

• Wikipedia
• IMDB
• Alias on Amazon

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We're excited about Gossip Girl starting again so figured we'd take a look at GG fashion.

This picture of  Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf in the ivory Bill Blass ruffle halter is especially for our Luscious Lifer, Anna Yasmin:

New season preview, below, in Paris! 

Here are some of our favourite photos, from the show as well as photo shoots of the cast members. See the full collection of our Gossip Girl photos here.

Catch up on seasons 1-3 DVD collections:

Or go back to where it all started, with the books by Cecily von Ziegesar:

• Gossip Girl Boxed Set: The First Collection
• Gossip Girl: The Second Collection
• Gossip Girl: The Third Collection

Catch up on the music from the series, buy a poster, or play the board game:

See our luscious photo galleries here:

• Gossip Girls: Leighton Meester and Blake Lively
• Gossip Boys: Ed Westwick, Chase Crawford and Penn Badgley
• Gossip Girl cast

Learn more from the official Gossip Girl website, including the online store where you can items featured in the series, such as Blair's Patent Leather Minna Hobo Bag in Red by Bryna Nicole, pictured right. 

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Avoiding work and looking for ways to divert yourself? Then have a flick through our luscious photo galleries on our Luscious on Facebook page. Here's a taster...
 

Dita Von Teese	"Sex and the City" revisited	Moorish inspiration

 Whilst you're at it, why not become a fan of our FB page and get daily Luscious updates!

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
On a lighter note, this movie of course features the stunning Marilyn Monroe singing all women’s signature song “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” (seen in the video below)

 

One of my favourite films, "Mildred Pierce" starring  the incredible Joan Crawford in 1945 has been revisited as an HBO miniseries for 2011, starring Kate Winslet, Evan Rachel Wood and Guy Pearce. Joan won an Academy Award for her portrayal of this film noir character.

The 1941 novel by James M. Cain is set in Glendale, California, in the 1930s. Mildred is a middle-class housewife struggling with her husband's adultery, dwindling finances, and her family's social position during the Great Depression. 

When she separates from him, she sets out to support herself and her children on her own. Her hard work pays off but to the detriment of her relationship with her daughter, the scheming and ungrateful Veda.

See more from the HBO website.

Joan Crawford and Ann Blyth as Mildred and Veda:

Kate Winslet as Mildred:

Evan Rachel Wood as Veda:

See images from the 1945 version and more from the set of the 2011 version here.

To buy the Mildred Pierce DVD from Amazon, click here.

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Here’s a fantastic little story:
If Gidget did Chanel... (Chanel surfboards) on the Hip & Healthy > Body page
 

 Definition from the Oxford Dictionary: