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MONDAY MOVIE MEME

Molly looked around for a weekly meme about movies and did not have any luck. So therefore she decided to start her own! Andy will play along as well - hopefully you will too. Go to your blog and create your own post on the topic, linking back to us in your post, then come back and leave a link to your post here in our Comments section. If you don’t have a blog, just share your response in the Comments section.

This week's movie topic is all about Regional Representation...

We live outside of Boston and in addition to a growth in the filmmaking business going on in the region, there are lots of films being made about our hometown. Sometimes they get the accent right, sometimes they don't. In many instances the city is painted in a beautiful light, often times ugly pieces from the past are shoved into the spotlight. There are times when we are intimately familiar with the settings, and in others we are introduced to new spots. It is hard to not be drawn to a movie set in your home city, state or region. Here are some that have portrayed pieces of our area. Share on your blog movies set in your part of the world and then link back here at The Bumbles. And don't forget to visit your fellow participants!

The Departed (2006) - Re-make of a Hong Kong film tailored to fit the Whitey Bulger mafia world of Boston with strong performances by Matt Damon, Leo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin - Leo's accent was better than locals Damon and Wahlberg.

Blown Away (1984) - Former IRA radical explosives expert escapes Irish prison and flees to Boston where he seeks revenge on a Boston Bomb Squad officer - with actors like Jeff Bridges, Tommy Lee Jones and Forest Whitaker you would think this would be a good movie. Not so much - and the accents were horrible. But the explosions and hurtling cars were kinda cool with the city as a backdrop.

Good Will Hunting (1997) - Pointing out the disparity between working class Southie and high brow Cambridge, Matt Damon & Ben Affleck's movie about a math whiz stuck on the wrong side of the tracks highlights Robin Williams as the patient mentor from which he earned an Oscar (in spite of the bad accent).

Field of Dreams (1989) - Though set in Iowa, Kevin Costner's character makes a plot defining trip to Boston to bring James Earl Jones, as a reclusive '60's radical author, to a Red Sox game at Fenway before convincing him of his fated destination back in the cornfields.

Mystic River (2003) - There is nothing pretty about the Boston neighborhood, characters or tragedy connecting them in this dark movie directed by Clint Eastwood featuring Kevin Bacon along with Tim Robbins and Sean Penn in very deserving Oscar winning roles. Three childhood friends are reconnected by a tragic murder and the twist at the end is heart wrenching. The accents here were close enough.

Far and Away (1992) - Back when Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were a happy couple, Ron Howard directed them in this beautiful movie about Irish immigrants in Boston searching for the American Dream in the late 1800's.

Mona Lisa Smile (2003) - Julia Roberts portrays a forward thinking teacher in the 1950's at all girls school Wellesley College outside of Boston (alma mater of Hillary Clinton) where she tries to convince her young students to be independent and self-sufficient in a culture where that is frowned upon. Stellar supporting cast includes Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ginnifer Goodwin and Marcia Gay Harden. The movie showcases the beautiful grounds of the college which is 5 minutes from our house!

Do you have a topic to suggest to the Monday Movie Meme? Leave it in the Comments section or send us an e-mail.