Latest news with #TheWeekendAway
Daily Record
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Gossip Girl star's Netflix crime thriller and all fans say the same thing
The noughties icon stars in a Netflix original thriller that left many fans feeling disappointed Leighton Meester, best known for her role as Blair Waldorf in the popular teen drama Gossip Girl, takes on a starkly different character in the mystery film The Weekend Away. The Netflix original, adapted from Sarah Alderson's novel and released on the streaming service in 2022, promised much with its idyllic setting of Split, Croatia, and a beloved leading lady. However, it appears to have missed the mark with audiences. A scathing critique on Rotten Tomatoes read: "Absolutely horrible! "Poor acting, a simple and too predictable script... The only good moment in this movie is a bird's-eye view of that city in Croatia. Unforgettable waste of time." Another review expressed disappointment, noting: "This movie had all the elements to tell a good story: a decent cast, an interesting location, and an attractive premise, but it turns out they decided to make everything jumbled and full of loose ends." In the film, Leighton portrays Beth, a new mother who travels to Croatia for a brief holiday with her lifelong friend Kate, played by Christina Wolfe, reports the Mirror US. Their trip includes a raucous night out clubbing, during which Kate encourages Beth to consider a one-night stand to alleviate her marital woes. After their night of revelry, Beth awakens with a hazy recollection of the events, only to discover that Kate has mysteriously disappeared. After a bit of sleuthing with the aid of their obliging taxi driver from the previous evening, Ziad Bakri's character Beth discovers that the two chaps they spent the night with were actually hired escorts and cunning con artists. Beth's friend had engaged the duo for some light-hearted fun, unbeknownst to her of the gents' clandestine criminal past. The duplicitous pair masquerade as respectable businessmen to sedate and rob their unsuspecting female clientele. The film's intriguing plot received praise from several viewers, with one fan commenting: "This is a great thriller with twists and turns that bring plenty of surprises. Leighton Meester shines, as does Croatia." Another enthusiast remarked: "It's a fantastic, fast-paced suspense thriller. Must-watch movie. "Lead roles-specifically Leighton Meester-are excellent." When it premiered, courtesy of its star actress, the movie piqued enough curiosity to amass almost 80 million hours of viewing. However, consensus suggests that The Weekend Away might not entirely fulfil viewer expectations. A critique reads: "Decent acting from the main lady, but otherwise pretty average and not a particularly thrilling thriller." Moreover, one audience member expressed that the movie suffered from "strange pacing," and characters who "lacked depth." Form your own opinion on whether this film meets the criteria of the thriller genre by watching The Weekend Away with Leighton Meester on Netflix today.
Buzz Feed
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Leighton Meester Gave A Candid Update On Her And Adam Brody's Rarely-Seen Children, And They're Literally The Sweetest
Leighton Meester and Adam Brody may keep their family life super private, but it seems like their kids are well aware of their parents' glamorous jobs. In case you didn't know, Leighton and Adam — who have been married since 2014 — share two kids: a 9-year-old daughter named Arlo and a 4-year-old son whose name they haven't shared. In a recent episode of Vogue's Beauty Secrets, Leighton shared some of her makeup tricks — as well as a couple of super rare sneak peeks into her home life. While going through her skincare routine, she revealed that the snail mucin she uses is pretty popular in her household. 'Adam gets into the mucin,' she said, referring to her husband of over a decade. 'We're a mucin family.' And while she and Adam have kept their kids' lives far away from the public eye, Leighton also opened up about what her two children think about their parents' lives as stars in Hollywood. 'My kids, they get what we do,' the Gossip Girl star said. 'They come on location a lot.' 'I don't think they're fazed at all,' Leighton continued. 'They get a lot of us off set and a lot of us not working, which has always been a really big benefit for both of us.' Leighton's recent comments come years after she offered more rare insight into her family life. Speaking with Cosmopolitan in 2022, the actor recalled being able to easily slip into character for her movie The Weekend Away — which is about a new mom taking her first trip after having a baby — thanks to how closely she related to the character. "When I got the script breakdown, it was like a 35-year-old with a 10-month-old, and I was like, 'That is exactly me,'" she said. "The element of being away from your child is very different from when you're with your child. At least for me," she added. Axelle / FilmMagic
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Leighton Meester wants to return to music
Leighton Meester plans to return to music. The 38-year-old star has focused her attention on her acting career in recent years, appearing in movies such as 'The Weekend Away' and 'EXmas' - but Leighton intends to return to her music roots in the future. The brunette beauty - who released her debut album, 'Heartstrings', back in 2014 - told E! News: "It's definitely something that I want to continue to do and I really enjoy doing, but I've been focusing a lot more on acting and my family and everything for the last handful of years." Leighton now intends to turn her focus towards making new music in the coming months. The 'Somebody to Love' hitmaker shared: "I'm always writing and I've done a little bit of recording. "I'd like to focus a little bit more on it in the next year or so. I had so much fun when I did it. Touring was really fun. Just every little piece of it is its own little adventure and I really enjoy it and I love having this piece of work out - even when I hear it now - 20-something me wrote it and it sort of morphs and changes meaning." Leighton previously revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic derailed her plans to release new music. Asked if she planned to return to music, Leighton told Cosmopolitan in 2022: "The short answer is yes. Hopefully soon. "I have a bunch of stuff written and recorded and ready to go. It's just a matter of when I can release it and when I can make time for that. "I had it ready and set to go, and then pandemic … And I've had another child. So I thought, 'This isn't the right timing.' So I think that the timing will probably happen this year, hopefully."
Boston Globe
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Leighton Meester takes the lead on ‘Good Cop/Bad Cop'
That ability to command attention — especially as the show otherwise did its best to center the likes of Blake Lively and Penn Badgley — is the mark of a truly compelling actor. And yet Meester hasn't enjoyed the same success as her 'Gossip Girl' castmates. Since the show's 2012 finale, Badgley stalked dozens of photogenic victims on Advertisement It defies logic that Meester hasn't had a similar breakout role given the fact — fact , I say! — that her 'Gossip Girl' performance was consistently its best. And while the millennial obsession with her marriage to a fellow teen drama star (Adam Brody, then of 'The O.C.' and now Netflix's 'Nobody Wants This') is understandable, it can also anchor her to a space she hasn't occupied in well over a decade. So whenever Meester does get a chance to show off what she can do, I'm tuning in. That's what brought me to ABC's 'Single Parents,' for example, which turned out to be a really Advertisement In the years since, she's hopscotched between genres, taking on the likes of a Netflix thriller ('The Weekend Away'), a recurring sitcom role ('How I Met Your Father'), and a holiday rom-com ('Ex-Mas'). This year, ahead of an upcoming turn on the Apple TV+ period drama 'The Buccaneers,' she's once again leading a CW show. On 'Good Cop/Bad Cop,' Meester's playing a jaded small town cop whose sheriff father (Clancy Brown) tasks her with working alongside her neurotic brother (Luke Cook). Time will tell if it gives Meester the room to show off the breadth of her underrated range and win over some new fans. Either way, I'll be there to find out.
