Latest news with #AuntLucy
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Me, My Mom, and Paddington
When passengers first arrive on a train into central London, many are greeted by the ornate, towering clock face of St. Pancras International or the abstract modern dome of King's Cross. Paddington Station, three miles down the road, however, shares little of its bigger sisters' pomp. Its large iron and glass roof was probably impressive in the 1850s when it was first built, but today the station feels largely utilitarian, a forgotten relic of the city's industrial past. Despite its humble design, though, Paddington Station is a special place for me. If you wind across its tile floors, past the waiting trains, and through the hurried crowds towards its westernmost platform, you'll find, hanging on the wall, a large three-faced clock. Beneath it, sitting atop a rectangular suitcase, is a small bronze statue of a bear. Paddington Bear. Along with being Britain's most famous mammal, Paddington has, over the years, become an important part of my relationship with my mom. For the uninitiated, Paddington is an iconic figure in British culture and the main character in 29 children's books and three movies. The stories follow the small, orphaned bear as he travels from 'Darkest Peru' to London—sent there by his guardian, Aunt Lucy, when she moves into the Home for Retired Bears and can no longer care for him. After arriving at Paddington Station alone and in need of help, he is rescued by the Browns, a typical British family who bring him into their home and teach him the ins and outs of life in England. Paddington's experience in London isn't easy; the city isn't as sunny and the people aren't as welcoming as they sounded in the stories he was told as a cub. 'It's not easy being somewhere new,' Paddington tells Lucy, the Brown family's daughter, in the first Paddington film. 'Things can be very different from how you imagined.' But over time, Paddington finds a family in the Browns and a home away from home in London. The love my mom and I share for Paddington began in 2018 when, on the eve of my own departure to London for a college semester abroad, we watched both films—the first at home, and the second at a theater on opening night. By the time the credits rolled, my mom was crying. It had been a difficult time for our family—first, my sister and I had left for college, then a year after that, my father had died of cancer. And now, I was leaving again, even further away. For both of us, the films were a picture of the new friends and experiences that, even after hardship, an adventure in England could bring. But it was several years later when I returned to London—this time with a one-way ticket—that Paddington took on a deeper meaning. During my five months as an exchange student in London, I had become enamored with the city and promised myself that, one day, I'd make it a home. Three years later, that promise would be fulfilled. After two unsatisfying years working for a bank in the United States, I was accepted into a political economy master's program at King's College London. The program offered me a chance to pursue a career I found more meaningful, and—more importantly—would let me live and work in London. However, like Paddington, my move to London was not what I imagined. Only three weeks before my move, I had been diagnosed with a chronic pain condition that had quickly taken over every aspect of my life. I struggled to eat, could barely sleep, and found it almost impossible to spend more than an hour at a time outside of my home. While the condition was not life-threatening, it was poorly understood, difficult to treat, and, for many people, completely disabling. Despite the pain, the thought of abandoning my move to London was out of the question. I would find some way to get through it, my mom assured me, even though we weren't entirely sure how. But, by the time I boarded my one-way flight to England, I was at the lowest point in my life—both physically and mentally. I needed support more than ever, and I was on my way to a country where not a single person even knew my name. When I arrived at Paddington Station, like the small bear from Darkest Peru, I arrived alone and in desperate need of a family. By then, I didn't think it would be possible for me to stay in London for long, let alone excel in school, make friends, or engage with the city. Physically, I felt hopeless. My pain was worsening day after day, and I was pouring what little energy I had into navigating a new and inept medical system that seemed determined to give me as few treatment options as possible. The mental side was even worse. Anyone who has experienced chronic illness or a life-altering accident has likely felt something similar. We all have a vision of what we hope our lives will look like—building a career, getting married, and raising a family. But in an instant, that paradigm can shift. Your foundational assumptions about who you are and what you value shatter, and the future becomes a very murky and uncertain space. It's an uncomfortable, and lonely, place to be. The experience was also harrowing for my mom. She was sending her kid across the ocean, not knowing what awaited me on the other side, and for the first time in her life, she was helpless to give me the support I needed. She felt, she said when I asked her, a bit like how Aunt Lucy felt when she hid Paddington on a ship destined for England, hoping that someone would be there to take care of him on the other side. In the stories, when Aunt Lucy says goodbye to Paddington, she hangs a small paper tag around his neck, scrawled with the words 'Please look after this bear.' The tag is inspired by those given to the thousands of British children who, during the Second World War, were evacuated from London into small towns and villages where they would be better protected from the falling bombs of the Luftwaffe. 'Long ago, people in England sent their children by train with labels around their necks, so they could be taken care of by complete strangers in the countryside where it was safe,' Aunt Lucy tells Paddington. 'They will not have forgotten how to treat strangers.' Those words, 'Please look after this bear,' took on a special meaning for my mom as I crossed the ocean to start my own life in London. There were things that I would need—support, care, a family—that she could no longer give me. Instead, she was sending me off with faith that someone would do what she could not. 'That little tag was like my prayer,' my mom told me later. 'God, please look after this bear. I'm sending this kid off to this far away place where I can't reach him.' On her first trip to visit me in London, my mom bought two Paddington Bears: a small stuffed bear and a keychain. The stuffed bear she placed on the long wooden mantel in my bedroom, and the keychain she kept for herself. The symbolism was unspoken—but we both understood it. During the many nights when my pain kept me from sleep, I would stare at that bear as a reminder that, even though I was far from home, not a second went by that my mom wasn't thinking of me 4,000 miles away. If the worst came to worst—if I had to leave London, return home, even go on disability—she would be there for me. But worst didn't come to worst, and eventually, my mom's prayers were answered. Paddington's family came in the form of the Browns, and mine came in the form of a church. One Sunday morning, I wandered through the doors of a brown-bricked schoolhouse in the South London neighborhood of Waterloo, where a small nondenominational congregation met each week. The room was full of young Londoners from every corner of the world—American and Canadian runaways, a pack of adventurous Singaporeans, and more South Africans than anyone could count. I couldn't predict it at the time, but over the following two and a half years, those people would become my family. They took me in as one of their own and walked with me through the ups and downs of illness and recovery. They prayed with me, cried with me, celebrated with me, and changed me. They became close lifelong friends. They, at least, had not forgotten how to treat strangers. When I arrived at Paddington Station, the first moments of my time in London, I was at my lowest—wrecked by illness and anxious about my future. But when I stepped on the same platform several years later to leave the city—once again, with a one-way ticket—I did so with a master's degree in hand, dozens of new friends, and some of the best memories of my life. None of that would have been possible without my mom and without the foundation of love she provided me. It was because I knew she was there for me that I even had it in me to build a new family in a new country. It was her love—not just during that period, but for the 23 years leading up to it—that carried me through that time. Last month, my mom flew to Washington, D.C., for a weekend visit. It's been a year and a half since I left London to start a new adventure with The Dispatch, and almost two years since my illness went into a miraculous remission. While she was in town, we had dinner at Amazonia, a wonderful Peruvian restaurant. And then we went to see the latest Paddington movie, Paddington in Peru. In the film, Paddington returns to South America—with the Browns in tow—in search of Aunt Lucy, who has mysteriously disappeared from the Home for Retired Bears. Paddington and the Browns trek through the Peruvian rainforest, following Aunt Lucy's trail all the way to the gates of El Dorado. The mythical lost city turns out to be Paddington's long-lost home—full of oranges, not gold—and there he reconnects with the community of bears he was separated from as a cub. The movie was bittersweet for my mom. Paddington, after all, doesn't choose to stay in Peru with Aunt Lucy and his given family. Instead, he sets back off to England. London is his home now, and the Browns are the family he's chosen. That's a tension, my mom tells me, that every parent feels. You want nothing more than for your kid to never grow up, to live in your house forever, and to be somewhere you can always take care of them. But at the same time, you want them to go out into the world to build a family of their own, to build a home away from home, supported by the foundation that you gave them. Paddington's experience, like mine and my mom's, may have been unique in its intensity, but it wasn't unique in its direction. Every mother and her child will, at some point, face something similar. You raise your kid, prepare them for the world, and then send them out to make their own way, trusting that others will love and care for them just like you have. In some way, every kid eventually gets on a boat to somewhere—and each one of us has a little tag, a little prayer, hanging around our neck, tied there by our mom: 'Please look after this bear.' Happy Mother's Day.
Buzz Feed
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
30 Movies People Thought Would Be God Awful, But Actually Turned Out To Be Pretty Great
Recently, Reddit user bigbankmanman asked the question, "What's a movie you thought would be terrible but you ended up liking?" And the folks over at r/movies swiftly responded with some pretty surprising (or maybe not?!) answers. Check it out: 1. The Lego Movie (2014) — "Expected a cheap movie tie in. Got a brilliant meta-movie about playing with Legos." 2. Prey (2022) — "My hopes for the Predator franchise were on the floor, but god damn, I loved Prey." 3. Paddington (2014) — "I remember seeing the trailer and thinking it was just a cash grab kids movie. Fast forward to 2025, and that bear has made me reevaluate my life and the first two are two of my favorite films ever made. The second one is a fucking masterpiece, and I'll fight anyone who defies me. Everybody gangster 'til Aunt Lucy shows up at the end of Paddington 2." — Edwardtrouserhands 4. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) — "That movie is amazing. Watched it the first time thinking it would be stupid but fun, but it ended up being awesome in every way and I've since watched it about eight times." Paramount Pictures — Overall_Cod2206 " Chris Pine is having SO much fun in that movie. It's a delight." — MadPiglet42 5. Alien: Romulus (2024) — "When I first heard ANOTHER Alien movie was getting made, I assumed it would be a stinker. It's probably my favorite movie from last year." 6. The Cabin in the Woods (2011) — "It didn't get spoiled for me at all, and I watched it with my then girlfriend thinking it was some type of generic slasher flick. What a fun concept and great movie."" Lionsgate — BenntPitts "I saw this in the theatre and had such low expectations. The film's opening scene and first five minutes genuinely had me thinking maybe we had accidentally walked into the wrong movie." — johnmlsf "My girlfriend made me watch it, and I really didn't want to because I was absolutely sick of 'teens dying in the woods' movies. Thankfully, she held firm." — Potentatetial 7. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) — "At the time, it seemed absurd that they would adapt a theme park ride into a movie and it just seemed pointless. My high school girlfriend and I were bored one day and decided to check it out. It was an absolute blast and was way better than it had any right to be." Buena Vista Pictures — Music_For_The_Fire I remember seeing the poster for Pirate s and thinking, Boy, they've really run out of ideas for movies if they gotta make one based on a ride. Then I went to see it with some people, and it was fun as hell, and Jack Sparrow is so instantly iconic I thought he might have been a preexisting character from something I'd read before." — RedHelvetiCake 8. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) — "I boycotted this thing thinking it was a stupid money-grab remake of the Robin Williams one. I kept hearing it was good and finally watched it months later. I loved it... Now, I usually can't take much of Jack Black, but I still think he should have been nominated for his performance as a teen girl in a 50-year-old's body." 9. Edge of Tomorrow (2014) — "I watched Edge of Tomorrow on a flight. I was expecting a generic sci-fi action movie, and what I got instead was a cool film that makes very good use of its concept. Got me hooked the whole flight. " 10. Game Night (2018) — "'How can that be profitable for Frito-Lay?' Jesse Plemmons kills me in that scene 🤣" — UhhBumbleBeeTuna 11. Galaxy Quest (1999) — "I couldn't believe they'd done such a great job." 12. Stardust (2007) — "I've argued with people about this movie because I think it was one of De Niro's best roles he has ever done. He isn't some version of the same character he has played in almost every movie he has been in. He IS Captain Shakespeare." 13. Lars and the Real Girl (2007) — "The description sounds so weird that I had to check it out. The description wasn't inaccurate, but it was so different from what I expected. It blew me away, and I've watched it several more times since." — Basic_Seat_8349 "Yeah, I thought it would be a cringe-fest, but it's actually a movie about tolerance and growth. Loved the scene where the preacher stands up for him to the congregation." — Lampmonster 14. Arrival (2016)— "I thought it was gonna be some corny sci-fi flick, and it blew me away." Paramount Pictures — CWKitch "Same. I was expecting some Independence Day- type movie and was waiting for shit to go sideways the entire movie. I was blown away by what actually happened." — LatterProfessional5 "PHENOMENAL FILM." — ryano1076 15. Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) — "This is my standard answer to this questino. That movie has NO business being as good as it is. It's Crispin Glover's finest cinematic performance, and I will die on this hill." MGM — MadPiglet42 "Definitely one of those that knows what it is and doesn't try and shy away from it." — jjackson25 16. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010) — "I remember thinking to myself, this movie sounds fucking stupid. But my friends insisted. It is now my favorite horror movie and my favorite comedy movie, LOL." Magnet Releasing — cookiesarenomnom 17. We're the Millers (2013) — "Looked stupid but it was very funny and the acting is just wonderful." Warner Bros. — IAMAHORSESIZEDUCK "Yep, no ragrets." — pembunuhUpahan 18. My Old Ass (2024) — "It looked interesting from the get-go, but in an 'interesting concept but no way they do it right' way. But oh, did they! My favorite movie of 2024. " Amazon MGM Studios — odrer-is-an-ilulsoin "Totally over-performed expectations. The time travel stuff was really just a Trojan horse for a poignant and smart coming-of-age family dramedy. Thought the young leads were very strong!" — nikes_alt 19. Tremors (1990) — "An early '90s movie with Kevin Bacon fighting giant underground worms? That sounds dumb as hell. But it's now one of my favorite movies ever made." Universal Pictures — willi5x 20. Singin' in the Rain (1952) — "It was at my local cinema, so I thought I'd watch it, as it's a classic. But I'm not really into many old musicals. Really enjoyed it in the end. I'd seen the famous scene many times before but didn't know anything about the storyline beforehand. I didn't know it was a film about filmmaking. I often enjoy films like that." Loew's Inc. — eltictac 21. The Devil Wears Prada (2006) — "Watched it like three times in my twenties. I'm a straight guy and the movie had a target audience that was definitely female oriented...I enjoyed it." 20th Century Fox — -OkButWhy- 22. Kick-Ass (2010) — "I did not know what I was getting into until Hit Girl flipped the switch with the violence." Lionsgate — Silent_Pr0tagonist 23. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) — "This movie had no right to be as good as it was." Universal Pictures — Zestyclose-Past-5305 "Yeah, I have no idea who at Dreamworks was like, 'Hey guys, remember that Puss in Boots movie we did like a decade ago? What if we did a sequel and went extra fuck with it?' but God bless 'em for it." — EssenceOfGrimace 24. The Prestige (2006) — "Two rival magicians turned deadly! I thought, is garbage. Then I had a date and she wanted to see it. I still don't remember that date's name but that movie is now displayed on my home theater shelf proudly. Eff, that movie is the best." Buena Vista Pictures — thebluezero0 "That movie is SO good, worth it for David Bowie alone." — MadPiglet42 25. Click (2006) — "Seemed like a switch-brain-off slo-mo-jiggles film, turned down to be a wake-up call to enjoy life." Sony Pictures Releasing — stony_phased "Before the movie: 'Haha, I saw in the trailer that he used the remote to pause time, fart on a coworker, and slap his boss.' After the movie: 'The small, seemingly inconsequential decisions we make every day become habits that we repeat. How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. Life is fleeting. Hug your loved ones.'" — dumptruckulent 26. Napoleon Dynamite (2004) — "I didn't like it until the third watch, and I didn't love it until the sixth. Now? I've probably seen it 300 times." Fox Searchlight Pictures — S_dot56 "Exactly. It's like The Big Lebowski. It's not funny the first time around. But after that it's hilarious." — farside808 27. A Quiet Place (2018) — "I am not into horror, so A Quiet Place was not really on my radar. It's now one of my favorite movies. People love pointing out its plot holes but I just think the suspense is really well done and it's a fun watch." Paramount Pictures — StaplesLewis 28. Dredd (2012) — "This movie was amazing, and I am still waiting for a sequel." Reliance Entertainment — Glissandra198 29. Mean Girls (2004) — "I thought Mean Girls was going to be some lame 'chick flick.' Boy, was I wrong? I watch it at least once a year on October 3 now." Paramount Pictures — ory1994 30. Finally, The Princess Bride (1987) — "Fucking most useless trailer of all time. Weird '80s rock saxophone backdrop. Very bored narrator. Spoils Vizzini's end for no reason. Tries to use 'affairs of state' as a draw for audiences. The movie itself though... One of the most quotable, clever, funny, and enjoyable flicks of all time. Weirdly timeless despite the cheesiest special effects. Absolutely stunning film." 20th Century Fox — DandyLama And here's that "useless" trailer if you feel like checking it out: View this video on YouTube Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. What do you think? Is there a movie you went into (at the theater or at home) where you thought it would be terrible but were surprised that you actually really liked it?! Tell us all about it below or via this totally anonymous form, and who knows, maybe there'll be a part two!
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Paddington In Peru Review: A Sweet, Silly Entry in the Beloved Franchise
The post Paddington In Peru Review: A Sweet, Silly Entry in the Beloved Franchise appeared first on Consequence. The Pitch: Paddington was born in the Peruvian jungle, went all the way to London, went to literal prison, went back to London, and now, everyone's favorite small bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw) is finally heading back home to Peru. After receiving a worrying letter about his Aunt Lucy's strange behavior from the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman), who works as a nun at the home for retired bears in Peru, Paddington and the Brown family decide to embark on an adventure down to South America together. Upon their arrival, however, Aunt Lucy — who appeared to be hard at work decoding some sort of jungle mystery — has gone missing. So, the family enlists the guidance of Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas) and his daughter Gina (Carla Tous) to help them locate Aunt Lucy at the mysterious 'Rumi Rock,' which is said to hold the key of a lost city (called El Dorado) and its hidden treasure. They hop on his fancy riverboat and cruise down the Amazon River until Cabot's ancestrally-fueled greed for the treasure diverts their plans for rescuing Aunt Lucy. Separated from each other and lost in the jungle, Paddington and the Browns face some of their most daunting challenges yet. Enjoyable Additions: Though Paddington In Peru maintains the same clever, jubilant tone as the prior two Paddington films, there are some new elements in the mix. For one, there's the obvious change in location; we've left the bustling streets of London and find our heroes in the same swampy jungle that Paddington grew up in. There have also been some changes to the creative team: Emily Mortimer has stepped in to replace Sally Hawkins (who played matriarch Mary Brown in the first two films) while original Paddington director Paul King has been swapped out with newcomer Dougal Wilson (a music video and commercial director making his feature film debut). Mortimer and Wilson fill their predecessors' shoes well enough, though the overall presentation is perhaps less theatrically done compared to the expansive, storybook directing in the first two films. The most intriguing additions, however, arrive with this film's enjoyable pair of guest stars: Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas. Paddington in Peru (Sony) Colman is good in literally anything she's in, and as the smiling, gaslighting Reverend Mother, she's a riot. With just a blank, gazing smile, she carries so much comedic potential in every scene she's in; watching her go toe to toe with the no-nonsense Mrs. Bird (Julie Walters) is a delight, and her opening over-the-top, Sound of Music-esque song announcing Paddington's arrival is joyously absurd. Banderas, meanwhile, forgoes the kind of tense politeness that Colman brings and instead gets wacky and lightly unhinged. He seemed to have gotten the 'play it like a cartoon character would' memo, not too dissimilar from Hugh Grant's turn as the eccentric actor villain in Paddington 2. Which brings me to my next point… A Trilogy of Villains: As Paddington In Peru very likely serves as the conclusion of a trilogy, one fascinating thing to note is that each of the three films have villains that are driven by the same thematic motivators: ancestral trauma. Millicent Clyde (Nicole Kidman) of the first film has embraced taxidermy as a result of her late father's humiliating affection towards animals; Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant) seeks to avenge his grandfather's attempt to get his hands on Kozlova's fortune in Paddington 2; and Cabot similarly descends from a long line of treasure hunters, who have risked their entire lives and consistently failed to find the lost city of El Dorado and its riches. Sure, the screenwriters drew upon a plethora of source material for the films, but these characterizations all point to the idea of redemption. These villains want to redeem both themselves for their past mistakes and their parents for their inability to protect their child. It's all in sharp contrast to the purity of Paddington, who is also driven by his upbringing and unbreakable dedication to family. Paddington is set against them as a reminder that we're not beholden to the errors of our bloodline, or that family can and only be what our ancestors decided. Instead, across three films, they argue that we make our own families, and no past mistake is so grave that it should cancel out our futures. Sweet, right? The Verdict: Now seven years removed from Paddington 2, it's hard to root against Paddington In Peru, especially because the first two films have achieved such beloved status in a very short amount of time. It doesn't help that Paddington 2 reached cult classic level after becoming the highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes, giving its sequel an already unfair level of expectations to aspire to. Paddington in Peru (Sony) So, the third Paddington film had to be bolder than ever to make as big of a splash as its predecessors, and while the new cast is up for the challenge, the story and exotic relocation aren't quite as successful. The whole 'lost city' trope is certainly uninspiring, especially considering the Incan and Mesoamerican roots that so often get glossed over; the film takes place in Peru, yes, but there's so little in the film that honors the culture within the country's gorgeous, multi-faceted landscape. Still, the film's buoyant attitude keeps things light and breezy, and the story's 'lost city' twist can really only be described as 'Paddington-core' (no spoilers, but as you can imagine, marmalade is involved). It's another sweet, warm-hearted entry in the Paddington catalog, albeit one that feels more like a detour or spinoff episode than an illuminating, well-rounded conclusion. The adventure might not be as thrilling this time around, but luckily, that dang bear is so charming. Once he delivers his signature 'hard stare,' it's enough to win you over. Where to Watch: Paddington In Peru swings into theaters on February 14th. 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