Have you ever experienced while lying on the couch watching a movie, you suddenly felt the urge to pack your bags, plan a trip or at least include an item to your travel bucket list because of the film's scenic location? These movies will ignite that wanderlust in you as they did to mine.
Like Father (2018)
Spoiler: After a young workaholic executive was left in the altar, she ends up on her Caribbean honeymoon cruise with the person she least expected to gatecrash her called off wedding—her equally career-obsessed father who estranged her for the past 26 years. The two shared adventures on the cruise which helped them rekindle their relationship.Not much a fan of cruise ship getaways but the scenes where they head to a hidden waterfalls in Jamaica and when they zipline above crystal blue waters had me longing for travel (I watched this during the lockdown due to COVID-19). "Like Father" is an American comedy film that is somehow tear-jerking since I have a daughter, too. The film also reminds that there's so much life outside work. And Kristen Bell's looks doesn't seem to get older.
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The Climb (2017)
Spoiler: A young French-Senegalese man from Paris suburbs decides to climb the world's highest mountain without prior mountaineering experience to prove his love to a woman, hence becoming a media sensation while on his journey. Inspired by true events, this French adventure comedy film gives a tour to the Himalayan landscape and one's undertakings when climbing Mt. Everest—from Nepal's capital city to the perilous trails en route to the top."The Climb" inspired me to include Kathmandu in my travel savings and perhaps climb even just the Everest Base Camp soaring at 17,600 feet (if the fam permits, haha!).
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You're My Boss (2015)
Spoiler: Georgina, an intimidating marketing executive whose career is on the rocks after an airport fiasco involving her became viral online, is given a chance for redemption through sealing a deal with a foreign investor. But the investor unfortunately wants to call the meeting off upon learning that she, instead of their airline company's president, will be the one doing the presentation, prompting Georgina to impulsively introduce her kind, easy-go-lucky personal assistant Pong as her boss. Their pretense continued in the next days when Pong's happy aura seems to win the investor's approval.Pong brought Georgina to Batanes — his hometown and one of their airline company's destinations — to make their marketing pitch realistic and first-hand because, as Pong said, "ang Batanes ine-experience, hindi gino-google" (Batanes should be experienced, not just googled). And that speaks as to why this hilarious Filipino romantic comedy is on this list.
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That Thing Called Tadhana (2014)
Spoiler: Weeping while struggling with her overweight baggage in an airport in Rome, a brokenhearted lady gets help from a kind guy that shows up and offers some space in his luggage, eventually building trust between them. Instead of going home after arriving in Manila, the two set out on a spontaneous trip to Baguio City then to Sagada while developing deeper feelings along the journey.Reports showed an increase in Sagada's tourist volume, especially in Kiltepan Peak, after this Filipino romantic comedy trended on social media. As for me, That Thing endeared Baguio, my already go-to destination, even more. And the characters' spontaneity sparks that lust to wander.
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Eat Pray Love (2010)
Spoiler: A successful, married woman realizes how unhappy her life really is. Starting with getting a divorce, she then begin a year-long journey in quest of "finding herself". Based on a memoir of the same name, this American biographical romantic drama film follows Liz Gilbert's gastronomic journey to Italy, finding spirituality in the Hindu temples of India, and mastering inner peace in the peaceful environs of Bali, Indonesia where she also unexpectedly finds true love.Before the "Globe Trekker" episodes in India, "Eat Pray Love" first endeared the country's culture to me. And who doesn't love Julia Roberts, anyway?
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Couples Retreat (2009)
Spoiler: Four couples flew to a private tropical island resort; one intends to undergo therapy sessions to save their marriage while the others go just to take a vacation, until they all realize that participation in the resort's couples therapy program is a necessity to their married life.This romantic comedy's filming location is what many would call a "tropical paradise". Watching this will immediately put Bora Bora Island, French Polynesia in someone's bucket list. It also stars the gorgeous Kristen Bell, if I may add.
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The Bucket List (2007)
Spoiler: Two terminally ill men bust out of the hospital ward to embark on an around-the-world journey aiming to complete a shared to-do list before they would "kick the bucket". Business mogul Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and mechanic and frustrated history professor Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) go skydiving, stay in an expensive French villa, climb up a pyramid in Egypt, go sightseeing in African safari, visit the streets of India and Taj Mahal, drove motorcycle along the Great Wall of China and chanced an inclement weather in the Himalayas among others."The Bucket List" is a sentimental yet heart-warming story of friendship and finding joy in your life, and it subtly reminds how brief human life is.
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The Da Vinci Code (2006), Angels and Demons (2009), Inferno (2016)
These American mystery thriller films is a tour to the ancient cities across Europe as the brilliant symbologist Robert Langdon solves historical mysteries while racing against time and escaping from the shadows of his antagonists. Based on the controversial Dan Brown novels, the films tackle European history, architecture, ancient structures and secret human societies. The story of my favorite among the three, "Angels and Demons", revolves within the walls of Vatican City (one of those places I wish to visit before I bite the dust). |
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*Got all the photos in this post from imdb.com
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DJ Rivera is an I.T. professional, entrepreneur, travel blogger, writer and the online publisher of PinoyTravelogue.com based in Rizal province, Philippines. Click here to know more.
