Been a long week for a number of reasons, none of which I want to go into. At any rate, planning on settling into a long night of sitting in the chair with a dog on my lap, reading and watching the last Monk episode. Pad thai is on the menu.
Oh, btw- I love craigs list. Bought a couple month old lazy-boy in mint condition for a hundred and fifty bucks (because I’m not married and I don’t have to color coordinate everything because that’s how I roll). They were given a new chair and did not have room for the old one, so sold it for dirt cheap. I think Lily likes it more than me, though. I have to put my drink down before I sit now, though, because Lily starts to jump up onto my lap before my butt even hits the seat. At any rate, she has figured out that wedged in between my thigh and the arm rest allows her to stay snug and warm and she can then rest her head on my lap. I’m cool with that.
Fraud List
Craigslist.
Wonderful place–sold off all of the appliances from my foreclosed home there, as well as some baby furniture from the failed adoption.
Yutsano
Heh. And you say you’re not married. I’d call that whipped.
r€nato
I suggested to John a “Top 10 Films of the Decade” thread, but since I stumbled into this here fresh thread…
in no particular order:
1) The Fellowship of the Ring
2) The Two Towers
3) The Return of the King
4) Pan’s Labyrinth
5) Downfall
6) Bowling For Columbine
7) The Incredibles (I have not yet seen “Up” or it might be here instead)
8) Syriana
9) There Will Be Blood
10) Anchorman
and a bonus #11 pick, because Philip Seymour Hoffman is my pick for Actor of the Decade and so he deserves to be represented:
11) Doubt
demkat620
You need to add Slumdog Millionaire to that list. And the Dark Knight.
And not Anchorman, Talledega Nights.
r€nato
It’s very hard to narrow it down to the top 10. I would have preferred to lump all three LOTR films together, but they were three films not one.
I like “Anchorman” MUCH better than “Talladega Nights”.
“Slumdog” was very good but I would not consider it a top 10 of the decade.
Same for “Dark Knight”.
Make yer own list, barbarian! I already got mine!
Svensker
John, just checking, are you wearing Sanzabelt pants and/or white leather sho-e-s, because if you are, we got big trouble going on here.
Demo Woman
Miss Moxie is making her self at home next to me on the sofa.
AirTrans has released a statement debunking the scary Muslim myth. There was a language barrier that caused the plane to go back to the gate. The group was questioned and allowed to reboard the plane. There was no shouting or disruption on the plane and there definitely was no macho men helping out.
Just Some Fuckhead
Does this have anything to do with the doctor’s visits?
arguingwithsignposts
I think you’re going to see demands for photographic evidence. Just sayin’.
nalbar
Please be careful with Lazy Boys and cats.
They do not mix.
nalbar
arguingwithsignposts
@r€nato:
Wow, them’s fightin’ words. Are you sure you wouldn’t like a teh ghey rights thread instead, because it would be calmer?
Jason Bylinowski
Yep, that craig, and his list. I got in shape because i was able to find a recumbent bicycle for 40 bucks. One of those beautiful on the inside kind of things, ugly as sin but perfectly functional. And now i’m ridin’ dirty 7 miles every day. Thanks craig!
r€nato
@arguingwithsignposts:
well, we could do a Mac-PC platform war, but that’s gotten old by now.
arguingwithsignposts
BTW, I don’t know if it’s amazon, or googleads, but every thread keeps spinning like it’s loading tonight. Doesn’t ever stop, even though the actual content is already loaded into the browser. God I hate ad servers. Understand why they’re needed, but hate them all the same.
BethanyAnne
Open Thread! Someone showed me this yesterday
http://www.derailingfordummies.com/
and I thought of our GLBT threads here. I thought the site was full of win.
Butch
We’re definitely the minority species in this household; there are seven cats (all strays or abandoned) and four dogs, two yellow labs and two golden retrievers. One of the labs will run until he collapses; throwing a tennis ball for the other one gets a look that essentially says, “you threw it. You go get it.” Of course it’s the chunkier of the two that loves to settle down in my lap.
beltane
Married people have color coordinated furniture? They must be the ones without kids. I’m not even sure I know what color our sofa is anymore.
General Winfield Stuck
@r€nato:
1. Children of Men
2. Munich
3. The Insider
4. Burn After Reading
5. Downfall
6. Man On Fire
7. The Tunnel
8. All three Bourne Trilogy
9. A Beautiful Mind
10. Zelary
Linkmeister
Hmm. I hadn’t thought of Craigslist. I need any one of these USB wireless adapters:
* RCA DSL25121US
* Belkin F5D6050
* Dlink DWL-G120 (revs B1 and B2)
* Dlink DWL-G122 (revs A1 and A2)
* Linksys WUSB11 (v2.6 – 3.0)
* Linksys WUSB12
* SMC 2662W
for my mother’s MSN TV, and all of them are at least three years old and out of date. Microsoft doesn’t care much about owners of the old WebTV system, which it bought six or seven years ago.
dmsilev
@r€nato: How about a nice clean emacs vs. vi discussion?
-dms
Autboy
hell yes. snuggle time. Is Lily into Monk? does she understand OCD?
Autboy
@r€nato: Michael Clayton
Demo Woman
Since I don’t have cable, I watch MONK online. I can watch part 1 of the end tomorrow and will have to wait a week to watch part 2.. ugh!
eemom
someone on the last thread was talking about Sherrod Brown; I think they will appreciate this:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/70547-brown-vitter-coburn-wont-let-me-join-amendment
Both heroic and hilarious.
South of I-10
@r€nato: Up is really good. You should check it out.
arguingwithsignposts
@eemom:
From the article:
Where can we get more of these?
RedKitten
You have to colour-coordinate stuff when you’re married? When the hell did that happen? Shit, I’m still using my mom’s coffee table from 1967.
Notorious P.A.T.
4 movie of the decade posts so far and no mention of “No Country for Old Men.” You people rule )
r€nato
@South of I-10:
I can’t wait. Definitely by year’s end.
@Autboy:
I can watch Michael Clayton over and over again, just like Syriana. But MC isn’t a top 10’er to me. Syriana‘s script is stellar. It’s a masterpiece of subtlety and depth.
Agent Orange
You talked to them? Really Johhny? You Diarhhea Puddle. If there’s anyone out of touch with reality it’s you and the rest of
the GOP. After eight years of lies and Republican malfeasance of Bush/Cheney it’s a wonder that anyone listens to one word you or your party has to say. Also, I notice that none of Ohio’s
cut of the stimulus package was sent back. The GOP is always quick to take credit for the dollars being spent in your districts
though not one of you voted for them. Hypocritical rat bastards.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/04/boehner-government-jobs/
r€nato
@Notorious P.A.T.:
I love the Coen Brothers, I loved NCFOM but NCFOM just didn’t make my list. What can I say, it’s hard to cut it down to just 10.
demkat620
@Notorious P.A.T.: Yeah, I didn’t get that movie. At all.
Just wondered what all the fuss was about.
Dreggas
Aetna Dropping 600,000 Customers to Raise Profits
Joe K.
@arguingwithsignposts 14
If you’re using FireFox, NoScript is your friend. I disabled scripts from ProjectWonderful, and FF no longer does the eternally-loading thing for BJ pages. (I never click on ads anyway — can’t even imagine the kind of mentality that would do that — so I don’t feel dirty for depriving John of valuable income.)
eemom
married and color coordinated, haw haw. I’ve been married 18 years and I don’t even coordinate my clothes anymore.
Max
I’m all kinds of jealous of people with dogs that snuggle.
Max the wheaten does not. He stands guard at the foot of my bed, or on the floor next to coach. However, if I am sitting down like on a bench at the park, he sits next to me and steps over me to “guard” me from strangers.
Jager
The handsome and lovely Straka “owns” the wicker loveseat on our patio, perfect length for a 90lb German Shepard! The baby Ava stands along side the loveseat and stares in adoration at her big bro, of course, then Mrs J picks her up and holds her in her lap and the dog spoiling cycle begins anew! We had a party awhile back and Straka stood and stared at the couple who were sitting on “his” loveseat!
freelancer
@General Winfield Stuck:
The Insider is one of my absolute favorite movies. Alas, it came out in 1999.
Notorious P.A.T.
Wow, your statement is so much stronger for including mangled words. If you spelled every word correctly, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought. But with strategic bad spelling you really make an excellent point, and it crystallizes with perfect clarity in my mind. Well done.
Jager
I meant to write talented rather than lovely
r€nato
@r€nato:
There are some subplots in Syriana which are mystifying the first or second time you watch the film… but you catch just one line or a whispered aside and suddenly it becomes clear how the Iranian pipeline relates to several of the subplots (for instance). Fucking amazing. The casting was super. Alexander Siddig was magnificent as Prince Nasir.
Yutsano
What no WALL-E? Sheesh they make one more Pixar film and it’s like it never existed.
General Winfield Stuck
@demkat620:
I think it was good, in showcasing George Clooney’s mastery of acting in an atmosphere of menace and impending doom.
Same with Syriana, though a much better all around flick imo, but it projected that same noir sense of menace and him navigating through it.
Tx Expat
@r€nato: @General Winfield Stuck:
I’m with the General on 1-4 and 9. I would add the LOTR movies as one entry and agree on Syriana so that gets me up to seven.
8. Capote
9. Ray
Tie 10. Closer
10. The Others
arguingwithsignposts
@Notorious P.A.T.:
Glad you liked it. Your snark has no effect on me tonight. ;)
BTW, just so it’s known that I can spell and do teh grammar: antidisestablishmentarianism is my favorite word, although I also like distanciation, because it’s such a bullsh*t word.
rosalind
from laobserved, a heartbreaking photo of a police officer saying good-bye to his police dog, valor. the bandages on the dog’s legs, the look on his face, god. what love, and what sadness.
Notorious P.A.T.
@r€nato:
If someone wants to like any movie, that’s fine with me. But “No Country” has been appearing on way too many Best Of lists.
r€nato
@Yutsano:
I liked Wall-E, it really is an amazing film considering the ‘star’ is, well, a robot who doesn’t speak human language.
I just didn’t like it as much as The Incredibles. What can I say, it’s hard to choose any one Pixar film over the others.
r€nato
@Notorious P.A.T.:
I didn’t understand your comment at first, when I replied to you.
I agree, NCFOM was not all that. A fine film, but surely not as good as it’s said to be.
Notorious P.A.T.
@arguingwithsignposts:
Didn’t mean to single you out. You were just the first into the minefield.
arguingwithsignposts
@r€nato:
what, no love for “Charlie Wilson’s War”? Agree on PSH. What an actor.
General Winfield Stuck
@freelancer:
still 2009
The last ten years sorta could be a decade, though not technically so/ MalkinMath
demkat620
@General Winfield Stuck: I’m sorry. Syriana was fine. I mean NCFOM.
That’s the one nI didn’t like. And I’m a fan of the Coen Brothers.
Yutsano
@r€nato: I hedge my bets and just say anything Pixar, although A Bug’s Life is the weakest member of their line-up IMHO.
r€nato
@arguingwithsignposts:
I like CWW very much, I will watch it just to see PSH as Gust Avrakatos.
But I wouldn’t at all call it a top 10 list. A story that needs to be told, for sure, and it was told well. But not a top 10 one, to me at least.
demkat620
@r€nato: Pixar is great. The Incredibles is probably the best but my favorite now and always will be is Monsters, INC.
I could watch that forever.
Tx Expat
@r€nato:
I had to watch that movie several times before I got everything that was going on. To be honest, I still catch things after not watching it for a while. And the cinematography is amazing – I just love the look of Soderbergh’s films.
freelancer
1) Black Hawk Down
2) Redbelt
3) Children of Men
4) Idiocracy
5) Shattered Glass
6) The Dark Knight
7) Zodiac
8) City of God
9) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
10) Before Sunset
with Honorable mentions for Good Night and Good Luck, Donnie Darko, Batman Begins, The Departed (I love the movie, but not in top 10 only cause Infernal Affairs and it’s two sequels were that fucking good), and The Rules of Attraction.
r€nato
@Linkmeister:
Microsoft, looting then screwing their customers? That’s unpossible!
arguingwithsignposts
@r€nato:
And yet you have LOTR movies at #1 and #2.
I see what you did there.
:)
r€nato
@freelancer:
interesting list, but I would have to disagree very very much with “Idiocracy”. A fine idea, poorly executed.
General Winfield Stuck
@Tx Expat:
I have refused to watch them out of some nonsensical loyalty to the books, which I read more times than I remember.
That was 35 years ago, and I no longer smoke the funny cigarettes, so maybe I should watch them.
r€nato
@arguingwithsignposts:
I think it does a disservice to lump all three LOTR films together. If any one of them had disappointed, we surely would have noted that.
Notorious P.A.T.
I agree, “Wall-E” was a movie highlight for me. I think of it whenever someone proposes a stupid solution to a problem caused by stupidity, such as dumping billions of dollars in Goldman Sachs’s pockets to boost the economy or pumping sulfur into the atmosphere to fight global warming.
“The Others” is very underrated. It’s what so many scary movies want to be but fail to achieve.
Some of these listed movies I haven’t even heard of. Gotta get to the video store.
demkat620
Also, I would add V for Vendetta to my list.
But I’m a Hugo Weaving fan.
Bad Horse's Filly
Aaaaah, John and Lily sitting in the lazy-boy, adorable. I want to get into the movie debate, but gotta run out into the cold for holiday stuff. Gotta keep that war on christmas going, ya know. I trust Fuckhead will do me proud in the debate.
Our beloved BJ poster Jeffreyw has the latest recipe in the Men Who Cook series on my blog (gotta give kudos to BJ, the guys here have really sent me some great recipes – love you guys).
I’m also dog-sitting this weekend, so it’s all good at the Filly household.
South of I-10
@RedKitten: I prefer eclectic.
r€nato
…meant to add, Peter Jackson deserves 30% of the slots in the Top 10, LOTR was a monumental piece of filmmaking. Perhaps the greatest all-time example of translating great literature into great film.
The Grand Panjandrum
@General Winfield Stuck: I didn’t see them in the movie theater so I watched them on three consecutive nights. It is the only way to see them. The continuity is remarkable.
General Winfield Stuck
@demkat620:
Sorry, I thought you were talking about Michael Clayton.
don’t know how I got that. Scratches head.
Tx Expat
@General Winfield Stuck:
I was afraid to watch them at first because I’ve read the books too many times to count, but the movies are extremely well done. I’ve now gotten to where I watch them back to back once a year or so (good way to spend a cold, wintry day). And if I still smoked the funny cigarettes, they’d be even better. ;-)
KDP
@arguingwithsignposts:
I am particularly fond of swasivious, an adjective meaning agreeably persuasive.
BethanyAnne
I don’t know how I’d pick an order, but here’s at least a bit of my list.
LotR
WALL-E
Amélie
I Heart Huckabees
Fight Club
So, that might be 5 of my top 10.
arguingwithsignposts
@KDP:
Oooh, thanks for a new one!
a bad memory
re. nalbar @ 10
My son was maybe 7 years old, visiting his dad. His dad had gotten him a kitten.
It’s been 25 years, I wasn’t there, it wasn’t my fault (it wasn’t anyone’s fault) and it still preys on my mind.
Notorious P.A.T.
@BethanyAnne:
Nice )
@Linkmeister:
I haven’t seen ANY of those movies. And why did you list 7 instead of 10?
Notorious P.A.T.
Wow, way to format, Non-Formatter!
Just Some Fuckhead
@Bad Horse’s Filly:
ummmm, yeah.
I don’t generally participate in the “list” threads. I’m prolly gonna play another game or two of Green Thumb Cards and then hop in the spa. It’s been a tough week. New job, have to get up at the unholy hour of 7 in the morning.
RedKitten
Sin City. I could watch it over and over. Hot Fuzz was also delightful.
Dreggas
Just try reading this without laughing till you cry!!!
Pocket Tazer Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife. A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Tazer for their anniversary submitted this:
Last weekend I saw something at Larry’s Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse- sized tazer. The effects of the tazer were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety….??
WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing. I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button and pressed it against a metal surface at the same time; I’d get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. AWESOME!!!
Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave. Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn’t be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right? There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target. I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong?
So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and tazer in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries. All the while I’m looking at this little device measuring about 5″ long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and (loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, ‘no possible way!’ What happened next is almost beyond description, but I’ll do my best.. .?
I’m sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, ‘don’t do it dipshit,’ reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn’t hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and . . HOLY MOTHER OF GOD . . WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION . . . WHAT THE HELL!!! I’m pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs? The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room. Note: If you ever feel compelled to ‘mug’ yourself with a tazer, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself! You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor.. A three second burst would be considered conservative? IT HURT LIKE HELL!!!
A minute or so later (I can’t be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was. My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I had no control over the drooling.
Apparently I pooped on myself, but was too numb to know for sure and my sense of smell was gone. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head which I believe came from my hair. I’m still looking for my nuts and I’m offering a significant reward for their safe return!
P.s… My wife, can’t stop laughing about my experience, loved the gift, and now regularly threatens me with it!
If you think education is difficult, try being stupid !!!
freelancer
@r€nato:
I put it in just cause its one of my favorite comedies. If I were replacing it with another, I’d say Kung Pow! Enter the Fist. That movie never fails to amuse me.
If I were being cheeky, I’d say Blade Runner: The Final Cut.
r€nato
@BethanyAnne:
if it was 10 years ago, Fight Club would definitely be on my list, at #2 right after The Matrix.
But FC came out in 1999.
Joshua Norton
For true Craigslist junkies, there’s a website that’s a must-visit. The owner features a special daily item from CL – with hilarious results.
http://itemnotasdescribed.com/
r€nato
@freelancer:
ok well, no problems, I just found Idiocracy very disappointing. It sure didn’t measure up to Office Space, for instance.
Still, there were some great lines in Idiocracy… ‘you talk like a fag!’, or, “Brawndo-The Thirst Mutilator!”
General Winfield Stuck
Just got two movies in today from NF. The Endurance and Drag Me Too Hell/ The second title is a description for the times, I think.
SiubhanDuinne
@Notorious P.A.T.:
Yup, those are my faves too.
inkadu
1. The Big Lebowski
2. Finding Nemo
3. Fellowship of the Ring
4. The Professional
5. Bladerunner
6. Time Bandits
7. UHF
8. Best in Show
9. Big Trouble in Little China
10. Groundhog Day.
Most available in VHS format at your local video store when VHS format and local video stores existed.
I’m glad nobody’s listed Citizen Kane.
freelancer
@General Winfield Stuck:
I have good news for you, Stuck.
AhabTRuler
OK, there is an argument that convinces me.
I don’t care all that much for the movies (I like the books just fine), but I don’t hate them. I can recognize that PJ performed a Herculean task in making the movies, and doing well at it to boot.
On a side note, that was not Viggo Mortensen’s best role. That honor belongs to his turn as the Devil in the first Prophecy movie.
General Winfield Stuck
@Dreggas:
LOL
Jaysus man.
Gives whole new meaning to “Don’t Taze Me Bro””
You are a dangerous man.
:-)
Jager
We caught the last half of Basic Instinct the other night, I left it on long enough to hear the line: “I’d say she is the fuck of the century Rocky, how about you?”
r€nato
@AhabTRuler:
Oooooh, I love The Prophecy! I try to show that to as many people as possible. A fine film that was forgotten, sadly.
As for Viggo… wow. How do I choose? A History of Violence. Eastern Promises.
And now I just remembered Coraline. I think that deserves #12 on my list.
Dreggas
@General Winfield Stuck:
i got that in email here at work (west coast) and was dying. Sent it to one of my co-workers and i swear i thought he was gonna have a heart attack he was laughin so hard.
Corner Stone
@r€nato: Well I agree with #’s 8 & 10.
Pan’s L bummed me the hell out, even though it was beautiful in so many ways.
TLoTR trilogy is also an amazing spectacle but…meh. Who cares?
General Winfield Stuck
@General Winfield Stuck:
It was someone else I see.
Corner Stone
@demkat620:
Holy shit! Are you insane!?
The fight scene alone in Anchor is worth a dozen Talledega nights.
Tx Expat
@r€nato:
There was a post on Fight Club 10 Years Later at HuffPo a few days back.
I think that I would also add to my list The Wrestler even though that movie made me feel the same way I did after seeing “Leaving Las Vegas.” Mickey Rourke may be a loon, but he was amazing in that movie (maybe because he was playing himself?).
r€nato
@RedKitten:
Does one need to have read Sin City to ‘get’ the film? Because I found it just horrible. Same with Watchmen, it seemed like one of those films that was utterly nonsensical unless you’d already read the graphic novel.
gex
@BethanyAnne: Awesome. Next time a gay blog comes up (which will probably be when New Jersey rejects gay marriage in the coming weeks), instead of participating in the thread, I will just read these.
freelancer
@inkadu:
I think 2 of those movies were made in the last decade.
The Grand Panjandrum
More GOP pwnage this time compliments Senator Sheldon Whitehouse:
TPM has the video at the link. Damn I need a cigarette after that.
MikeJ
I once watched the first half hour of that first elf movie everyone goes on about. Couldn’t take any more.
r€nato
@Tx Expat:
you are clearly an intelligent and perceptive person ;-)
arguingwithsignposts
@inkadu:
BL was 1998.
Corner Stone
@Notorious P.A.T.:
That movie blew chunks of the chunkiest chunks that ever chunked.
Hated it, and gave it zero stars on netflix.
BethanyAnne
@r€nato: ooo, that’s right. 1999 was an awesome year for movies. There was American Beauty, then Fight Club, then Magnolia.
gex
@Dreggas: What? We need links so we can share with non-BJers. Pretty please.
Corner Stone
@Notorious P.A.T.: I DO NOT want you grading my term papers.
inkadu
@r€nato:
Oh, if we’re doing top comedies disguised as dramas:
– History of Violence
– Show Girls
and the most unintentionally hilarious movie of the last decade:
Requiem for a Dream.
General Winfield Stuck
@The Grand Panjandrum:
The wingnuts should have compared it to My Pet Goat. Dummies.
Dreggas
@gex:
i got that as an email from my mother, not even sure it is a true story.
RedKitten
@r€nato:
You probably get more from the movie if you’ve read it, but I never read the graphic novel, and I liked the movie just fine.
YMMV, obviously.
And I’m still pissed that L.A. Confidential lost Best Picture to Titanic. WTF?
mommybrain
We acquired our first small dog, a 17# black pug, this summer at my Sprout’s behest. He has wanted a pug since he could tell dogs from cats. My all-time favorite thing is sitting down in the chair while he waits patiently at my feet. As soon as I sit, he hops up, turns himself around and backs into the space between my thigh and the arm, his little curly tail poking out the side.
After watching the pug, my rotty lab mix tried this, darn near squished me flat.
BethanyAnne
This year looked like another really good year for movies that I like. I’ve been super poor, so I’m waiting for them to come out on cable, but there are like 8 that I’m really eager to see. Zombieland and UP and Coraline come to mind immediately.
Corner Stone
@demkat620:
Aaaarrrggghhhh!!
It is clear that you are, in fact, quite insane.
gogol's wife
Regarding the cautions about La-Z-Boys and cats: I think it would be very difficult to fatally squish Tunch, but yes, be careful when you’re returning to the upright position. They love to get underneath when you’re not looking.
General Winfield Stuck
You want to see Mickey Rourke playing himself, watch Barfly.
inkadu
@arguingwithsignposts: A cat was distracting me when I should have been reading the rules. Most of the ones on my list came from the 80’s.
How about another list: Movies that made an impression on you when you were young but aren’t really that good?
My top entry into that category is, “Into the Night” with Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer. It made a mark on me because it did not have a happy ending. Jeff ends up with terrorist brains all over his face; but more importantly, Goldblum’s character is suffering from insomnia, depression and ennui… which I could relate to, but had not being exposed to watching “He-Man” or the “The Bad News Bears.”
I’d include “Time Bandits” on this list for similar reasons, but it is still too awesome a movie to qualify.
New Yorker
Sorry to change the subject a bit (it is an open thread), but was anyone else really disappointed in Sully’s reaction to Palin’s endorsement of the birthers’ questions as legitimate? Instead of some long, well-written essay on how she’s become Jim Jones to the GOP and will lead the entire party to suicide, he brings up the Trig stuff again.
For the love of god, Andrew, the woman is a delusional maniac. You’ve done your part to point this out. Why can’t you just accept the fact that she is indeed insane enough to get on a plane from Texas to Alaska while leaking amniotic fluid?
Please, enough with the Trig stuff!
Tx Expat
@r€nato:
Thanks, I usually get “only able to see the obvious.” ;-)
I will say that I do love the Rourke. Two of his 80’s movies are on my desert island list: Angel Heart and Barfly.
r€nato
@Tx Expat:
thanks for that.
Corner Stone
@r€nato:
Watchmen was just godawful.
Comrade Mary
The Watchmen trailer was awesome. Then they went and done killed Hallelujah eight times past dead with the skankiest, corniest sex scene ever.
Plus: dearth of giant squids.
Corner Stone
@BethanyAnne:
Well, since we were all gonna die in 2K, it made sense to break out the real shit for posterity.
r€nato
@inkadu:
what an awful film. Darren Aronofsky redeemed himself with The Wrestler, for sure.
Comrade Mary
(For “trailer”, read “opening credits”.)
ellaesther
@r€nato: Inspired by asiangrrl telling me a few days ago that Once is in her top 5 favorite movies ever, I was inspired to wonder if I can even create such a list. I got to four (because three of them actually count as one very long-ass movie), based solely on the idea that I could watch any one of these movies over and over again and I don’t think I would ever grow weary of them. In no particular order:
1) Once
2) It’s a Wonderful Life
3) Bend it Like Beckham
4) LOTR
Let the mocking commence.
inkadu
@RedKitten: I watched LA Confidential again a few years ago. I was struck by how horrible the cinematography and directing were. It’s still a great movie from a plot perspective, though.
And don’t question Titanic. Millions of adolescent girls can not be wrong. Plus, I like to think of little Mikey Seaver making it, even if I’ve already ironed out that name confusion in my head.
arguingwithsignposts
@inkadu:
Well, for the entire Wingnut population, we know the answer to that one: Red Dawn.
For me: “Suburbia”, “Straight to Hell,” “The Hunger,” and possibly “Repo Man” depending on who you ask about it.
(revealing those mid-80s punk roots)
Yutsano
@New Yorker: It’s dog-with-a-bone syndrome. He refuses to let it go because he’s just CONVINCED there’s something there. Never mind the fact there’s so much about the woman that’s repugnant even without the Trig prop she calls a son. Wouldn’t it just be too sweet if Alaska Social Services took him away from her due to neglect?
gex
@Dreggas: Oh, it is most assuredly a true story. All my religious right wing friends and family assure me that emails that circulate like this are absolutely true. It doesn’t even matter what Snopes says.
JK
@r€nato:
What about Sideways for Top 10 Films of the Decade List and how about a Top 10 Films of All-Time List and a Top 10 Films No One Has Heard Of List?
Corner Stone
@inkadu:
Tequila Sunrise?
Shawn in ShowMe
I don’t think there’s ten movies that stand out above the rest. For me there’s two. When I walked out of the theater after the Incredibles I was pretty sure I’d seen the greatest Pixar movie (and therefore the greatest animated movie) of all time. And LOTR brought out the wide-eyed sense of wonder I hadn’t felt since the original Star Wars flicks. All the other fine movies you can just throw in a hat.
As far as realistic drama goes, is anybody gonna give Phillip Seymour Hoffman any help? It’s like he’s the last of a dying breed.
arguingwithsignposts
@ellaesther:
Wait, “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Bend It Like Beckam” are part of one movie?
Corner Stone
@ellaesther: Mock mock mock mock mock. Mock.
gex
@General Winfield Stuck: There’s a movie with Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson. Every time I see the movie in the guide with their names listed, I can’t help but wonder what they were thinking.
It may be a good movie, but who the hell would find out?
Fern
@ellaesther: Well if we are talking about movies I can watch over and over – The Commitments.
Corner Stone
@JK:
No.
ellaesther
@ellaesther: I was apparently very inspired. Sigh.
Speaking of asiangrrl, if she comes by these parts and I miss her, would someone prettyplease tell her that the Swell Season show yesterday was so far beyond awesome as to render the word awesome meaningless?
kthx!
I’ve decided I want to be Marketa Irglova in my next life.
Dreggas
@gex:
my folks believe everything they see in email too, save fore the nigerian inheritance people.
arguingwithsignposts
@ellaesther:
BTW, I’m watching “The Killing Fields” tonight. That’s one I could watch over and over, but not for a good reason. “Ghandi,” also.
AhabTRuler
@The Grand Panjandrum: It’s a great riposte, but he has less charisma than Garrison Keillor on Quaaludes.
Corner Stone
Anyone watch Dead Bang with Don Johnson? About a white supremacist dealio and the coppers trying to shut em down.
I can watch that movie over and over again.
“I didn’t kill your brother, Bobby. He did.”
Yutsano
@RedKitten: Same reaction with me to Persepolis, although this is not deterring me from getting the graphic novels as soon as possible. Although now I’m scared to, mostly because I enjoyed that film so much.
Library Grape
OT: can anything or anyone save us from Sully McSully’s seemingly never-ending quest to dig himself farther and farther into the trig palin hole he started over a year ago?
But here’s the critical sentence:
In that weird conspiracy-theory freaky thing that people talk about that Trig isn’t my real son. And a lot of people say, “Well you need to produce his birth certificate! You need to prove that he’s your kid!” Which we have done.
My italics. Palin has never produced Trig’s birth certificate or a single piece of objective medical evidence that proves he is indeed her biological son. A child with Down Syndrome must have a pile of such records, tests, assessments and ultrasounds that conclusively prove that he is Sarah’s biological son. It seems bizarre to me that neither the public nor the campaign (so far as I can glean) has ever been given one of them.
i mean, i like sully in many ways but every time he brings this up it reminds me of some time when i was in my teens and i was caught in a big steaming lie and my parents toyed with me by playing along but letting out the rope for me to hang myself. the justifications piled upon justifications mounted and mounted until the weight came crashing down in a sea of embarrassment.
oy.
inkadu
@New Yorker: Sully? Who is sully? And who is Trig? Is that like the sin of Palin is the ratio of the wingularity to the base?
@r€nato: I’m glad I’m not alone! So many people think Requiem is this really introspective deep and disturbing movie, when it’s really just an amazingly well produced afterschool special. I loved “The Wrestler,” though and wouldn’t have made the connection…
@Comrade Mary: I can’t judge the Watchmen… it’s the only movie I’ve seen where I’ve been able to recite the entire movie before watching it. Now I know what people making movies must go through. Is this scene good? I can’t tell any more.
That said, I think it was too slavish to the original for good flow, but that Kovacs and Blake were enough to redeem it.
Plus, the giant squid sucked. I was glad it was gone. Kicking the squid got rid of that black freighter subplot which would have really sunk the film.
Library Grape
@Yutsano: persepolis was SUCH an amazing movie!
Tx Expat
@r€nato:
Hey, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be ugly. I get teased a lot by my law school buddies for the person who always gets the obvious. I thought your previous reply was teasing in that same type of way which I took in a good-hearted way. ;-)
RedKitten
@inkadu:
I think the cinematography was that way on purpose, though (I could be wrong). But it seems like they deliberately filmed it to look like it was set AND shot in the 1940’s, as opposed to a film set in the 1940’s, but shot in the 1990’s.
ellaesther
@arguingwithsignposts: @Corner Stone: You mock, but I am happy!
I suppose, now that I think of it, I’ve come up with movie #5, actually!
5) Brokeback Mountain.
Only I can’t watch it over and over because after I’d seen it three times I realized that I would never stop crying because the end would never change and I should might maybe cut myself some slack.
Library Grape
@ellaesther: i’m right there with you. i haven’t been able to bring myself to watch it a second time because i cried so much the first time.
Shell
Ah, John, you’re learning, like all new dog owners, that dogs are such champions at adaptation. They can read us like a book! That’s why we’ve been together for thousands of years.
r€nato
@ellaesther:
I would have a very, very difficult time making a top 10 all-time film list. For one thing, such a list for just about everybody would be weighted towards the last 20 or 30 years, just like every top 10 list of every kind usually is.
But, I’ll take a stab at it. Here are my all-time top 10 films, top 10 as far as the entire package – great filmmaking, great performances, great writing. Not just ‘films I like’:
1) The Godfather
2) The Godfather Part 2
3) The Bicycle Thieves
4) The Return of the King (sorry, Peter Jackson, you only get one slot on this list and this was the best of the trilogy)
5) Lawrence of Arabia (must be watched on a large HD screen, not on your 27″ standard def TV!)
6) Taxi Driver
7) Cinema Paradiso
8) Chinatown
9) Schindler’s List I ALWAYS cry when I see this film, and I don’t do that much.
10) 8 1/2
JK
@Corner Stone:
Please try not to be so longwinded and loquacious in the future and just cut to the chase.
Best Films of the 1970s List
http://cinepad.com/awards/best_70s.htm
Corner Stone
1. Casino Royale (Daniel Craig)
2. Anchorman
3. 300
4. Eurotrip
5. G.I. Joe
demkat620
@Corner Stone: Well, that’s a given.
I am in fact, certifiably insane. :)
Corner Stone
Damn moderation…
1. Ca$ino Royale (Daniel Craig)
2. Anchorman
3. 300
4. Eurotrip
5. G.I. Joe
r€nato
@JK: Sideways? No. Not a top 10’er to me, not even close… YMMV of course.
inkadu
@arguingwithsignposts: I think I’ll look into some of those… Here’s the beginning of the plot summary for Straight to Hell:
Awesome.
I seem to have missed out on most of the good stuff in the eighties. “Ferris Bueller” was as outside-the-box as I got. He skipped school! The scamp.
Tom Hilton
What, no Browncoats here? Serenity is the best goddamn movie of the decade, dammit!
Corner Stone
@inkadu:
Re: The Watchmen movie, I can answer you. No, it is not good.
Tom Hilton
@arguingwithsignposts: Repo Man is brilliant; Straight to Hell is a complete mess, but with great music.
Tx Expat
@JK:
The only film missing is Reds.
r€nato
I would nominate M. Night Shamalamadingdong as the worst director of the decade.
General Winfield Stuck
For Burt Lancaster fans, of which I am one, one of the most fascinating and enigmatic movies ever, imho, was The Swimmer. The dialogue was mesmerizing.
I don’t think it is available on DVD, At least for NF. It has been on my “saved” list for several years, but nothing so far.
JK
@r€nato:
Top 10 Films of All-Time
1. The Godfather Part II
2. The Godfather
3. Lawrence of Arabia
4. Citizen Kane
5. The Graduate
6. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
7. Goodfellas
8. Mean Streets
9. Annie Hall
10. Manhattan
Cool film lists
http://mapage.noos.fr/screenville/highlights/rosenbaum1000.htm
http://www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000_top100films.htm
Yutsano
@r€nato: Seconded. Figured out The Sixth Sense halfway through. What a letdown.
demkat620
@Corner Stone: While I will agree with your assessment of Watchmen, I wish to strenuously object in the strongest possible terms to your choice of Casino Royale.
No, it was not good, and Quantum of Solace was the most pointless. movie. ever.
Corner Stone
@Tom Hilton:
I did totally enjoy it. And still do when I catch it. Good call.
Shell
Titanic? Ack! That goes on the list of ‘Oscar for best picture? Are you serious?’
Some flicks that haven’t been mentioned yet?
The Man Who Would Be King
Raising Arizona
Sense and Sensibility
Shakespeare In Love
Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol (Oh, Magoo!)
I’m a sucker for Gillian Anderson’s version of ‘Little Women’
arguingwithsignposts
@Tom Hilton: @inkadu:
“Straight to Hell” is made by the same guy who made “Sid and Nancy.” it’s got Elvis Costello and the Pogues, and a lot of anachronisms. Sort of an homage to Sergio Leone movies. And yeah, it’s a mess.
Shawn in ShowMe
@ellaester
That’s why I like these kinds of threads. I’ve never even heard of this movie but based on your recommendation and the accolades it’s received on IMDB, I might check it out.
My top five personal list includes a Fritz Lang pic starring Gloria Grahame called The Big Heat, but I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s seen it. Any classic film noir aficionados out there?
JK
@General Winfield Stuck:
I can’t think of any American actor who had 1,000th the range of Burt Lancaster.
Corner Stone
Can I humbly suggest we not stray into the “all time” category? Isn’t it more fun to play with the last decade-ish offerings? Movies that people not named Ebert have actually seen?
General Winfield Stuck
The range of tastes in movies is fascinating for BJ’ers/ Keep em coming.
Tx Expat
@r€nato:
It’s sad when The Sixth Sense is the best of the bunch. He just deteriorated movie after movie into the category of “the unwatchable.” What was the name of that last atrocity? Something to do with a mermaid, I think.
For all time greatest, though, it would be a shame to leave off Pulp Fiction.
freelancer
@Tx Expat:
Not to be the the most annoying Pedant in the world, but
REDS (1981)
debit
@General Winfield Stuck: Well. I thought they were beautiful; masterfully filmed, acted and edited and it pissed me off beyond words because I’d waited decades for the books to be made into a movie and Jackson got it wrong.
But if you don’t mind that the Hobbits are made mere filler for Jackson’s perception of the real story (Aragorn’s journey to reclaim his throne) then you may not have the intense anger issues I seem to still have going strong. Heh.
Cat Lady
@Corner Stone:
I still love that movie. Young and handsome Mel Gibson and young and handsome Kurt Russell both vying for a young and beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer in beautifully lit LA, with a Robert Towne (Chinatown) screenplay? Helloooo! Sooo romantic!
Corner Stone
@Shell:
You have “Shakespeare in Love” on there and you dare mock Titanic by someone?
Good God, let Irony reign once again.
General Winfield Stuck
@JK:
Absolutely.
to wit
Valdez Is Coming
YellowJournalism
Howard the Duck
My grandparents took my sister and I to see it. I was eight and sis was six. We walked in late (because with my grandmother, you were always late to things), just as the duck is swearing at Tim Robbins outside the museum. We literally sat down and then got back up. My grandparents got us tickets to Flight of the Navigator. On the way home, I pointed out the single use of “shit” that I swear has since been erased from that movie.
We convinced my dad to rent it when it came out on video. All of this taught me that you can get adults to let you watch any old shit as long as the title sounds kid-friendly.
elaine
Charlie Wilson’s War – fun flick, and the only one I’ve seen where the principles were much better looking in real life than the actors who played them. Philip Seymour Hoffmann is an amazing actor. Capote should be on the list for that reason.
OK — slow on thread. Titanic’s initial review I liked: the movie took longer than the ship to sink. How did it get an Oscar?
Who needs matching furniture? Just get a dog who sheds, and voila, everything blends in nicely.
Corner Stone
@Cat Lady: I just enjoyed watching both Gibson and Raul Julia trying to act drunk while they each tried to kill each other.
Truly underrated classic that is easily watchable again and again, at least to me.
r€nato
@Tx Expat:
I wanted to throw a ten foot wall’s worth of bricks at my TV after seeing Signs.
Corner Stone
@Tx Expat:
A shame to who? To this point, the only people I’ve met who put that down as one of their favs have been really fucked up masochistic personalities.
Tx Expat
@freelancer:
No worries, pedants welcome (as I repeat to myself, google is your friend, over and over). ;-)
Cat Lady
@Corner Stone:
I just really, really liked the wooing that the pre-whackadoodle Mel Gibson does to end up with Michelle. He was doin’ it rite. :-)
Jason Bylinowski
@AhabTRuler: I’m not sure how you could be more wrong. Viggo was almost perfect as Strider. The only thing he couldn’t quite pull off was the rally speech at the end of the film. His is just not a voice for war speeches.
@RedKitten: The comic is way way waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than the movie. Especially the whole That Yellow Bastard arc. And yeah, the movie was good as well, but it’s no comparison.
Yutsano
@Corner Stone: Pretty much my reaction to any Tarantino movie (full disclosure: have not seen Ingloreous Basterds yet) honestly. Maybe I just don’t get him or something, but his movies are hyperviolent pretentious crap to me.
:: dons flame-retardant suit to prepare for inevitable flameage ::
General Winfield Stuck
I will say, when rating best movies all time, I am often conflicted between what was the most enjoyable and those that are both enjoyable (but less so) and best made.
Serenity is a perfect example, I just loved it and watch it again every few months, and it never disappoints . Another is Chronicles of Riddick, both with excellent FX, but something keeps me from adding to my list of best films.
Maybe it’s the cinematography aspect or other elements of movie making, or the thought provoking factor. Don’t know exactly, but just wanted to say that.
r€nato
@Corner Stone:
Pulp Fiction is enjoyable, but it’s not even Tarantino’s best film. I’d still say that is Reservoir Dogs.
JK
@General Winfield Stuck:
When you peruse Burt Lancaster’s filmography, the diversity of roles he played is incredible. Equally incredible is the fact that he was convincing in every single performance.
Corner Stone
@Cat Lady: Agreed.
As for myself, I am thoroughly enjoying the full-blown “whackadoodle Gibson” Era.
r€nato
@r€nato:
(water? WATER? you’re fucking kidding me, right?)
Jason Bylinowski
@Cat Lady: I’m not going to lie, I’m a fairly standard hetero male but Mel Gibson was such a beautiful man in the mid-90s.
Corner Stone
@r€nato: Oh balls. Straight balls.
R D is without a doubt the balls.
inkadu
@RedKitten: Your theory must be right, RedKitten, because it was so obviously bad. Maybe they just didn’t go far enough with the cinematic conventions, so enough of it was modern to throw the balance off. It’s tricky to mix old and new, because you end up making a movie with markers of the past and the present. “China Town,” is another example of a not-quite successful recreation. You can tell it was a movie about the 40’s made in the seventies.
“Far From Heaven” was a pretend-50’s movie that really went all the way. If I didn’t know the actors, I’d think it was a for-real 50’s movie.
@r€nato: RotK is the worst of the three, I think; it’s not really PJ’s fault, since there are two entirely separate story lines. It’s a good spectacle, but except for Theoden’s pre-battle speech, most of it fell flat. Fellowship is easily the best of the three for me, for flow, writing, and arc. Too many large battle sequences can really suck the life out of a movie.
Plus, Return of the King is obviously biased history written by the victors; as such, I reject it as Numenorian propaganda.
Yutsano
@General Winfield Stuck: I think it’s a typical blind spot folks tend to have when it comes to including science fiction films. It’s like they can’t possibly be serious movies at all. Then you mention Kubrick and 2001 and suddenly folks go, “Oh yeah!”. It never ceases to amaze me.
r€nato
Mel Gibson is a wackjob, yes, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying Apocalypto. That is one very fine piece of filmmaking. An excellent action film set in (barely)pre-Cortez central America. Oh, and the actors all speak Maya. Woah.
Cat Lady
@Cat Lady:
Also, speaking of Mel Gibson, Apocalypto is amazing, from the first to the last scene. The guy is probably deranged, but when he decides to focus his shit on making a movie, look out. It’s going to be interesting.
JK
Tense White House exchange
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_pl1014
Elie
@RedKitten:
Heh, heh — and some orange covered arm chairs going back to the 70’s that belonged to my Mom-in-Law. They are heavy as hell from a time when furniture was made to last — and they have…
freelancer
Other really great movies that have come out recently that I left off of my list:
Changeling (Not so keen on Eastwood’s directing style. Ever. Gran Torino was too cute, Million Dollar Baby too manipulative. But Changeling was the shit.)
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Hate Westerns. Love this movie.)
The Prestige (Can Christopher Nolan do anything wrong?)
Gone Baby Gone (Best Adaptation of Lehane’s work)
King of Kong
Too many, there’s just too many.
Demo Woman
Two films that I enjoyed this decade that haven’t been mentioned, (I don’t think) are The Contender with Joan Allen and In America.
@Corner Stone: I thought that Pan’s was great but my son had fore warned me to close my eyes at appropriate times. I did close my eyes twice and because of that I saw a different film than my friend did. The ending is haunting though.
Tx Expat
@Corner Stone:
Well, I’ve never thought of myself as a fucked up masochistic personality, but maybe I should reconsider.
I like Tarantino, although Kill Bill went a bit too far for my tastes, but Pulp Fiction was funny as was Reservoir Dogs.
I have a tendency to like very dark humor and you can’t beat Pulp Fiction for that. I can’t wait to see Inglorious Basterds because I’ve been hearing that it’s his best effort yet.
demkat620
@r€nato: Totally agree on Tarantino. I do have a soft spot however for both Kill Bill Vol 1 and True Romance.
Let’s really go crazy and throw a monkey in this wrench:
Best Star Wars flick.
A New Hope
The Empire
or Jedi?
My vote is the Empire and just so you have no illusions, none of the new shit is eligible. Love Ewan McGregor and Samuel L. but damn those movies are awful.
Corner Stone
While we are here let me just say – the new Star Trek movie was absolutely fucking awful.
GI Joe was far and away a much better film, and a much more enjoyable and entertaining film.
I went into the new ST *so badly* wanting to dig it. But I just could not. That was fucking abysmal on so many levels, and for so many reasons.
And I’m not fisking the “science” of it. Just the acting, dialogue, back and forth. Gahhh. It’s one of the few sci-fi / action-esque flicks I may never watch again.
Just bloody awful.
Cat Lady
@r€nato:
Yes, this, also too.
participle collider
the rules of the game, folks. game, set, match.
General Winfield Stuck
I left off my list Pan’s Labyrinth for which I should be horsewhipped. Great great flik.
r€nato
@demkat620:
Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars film, IMHO.
The most recent SW flick (ep 3) was decent. I would rather gouge out my eyeballs with a chainsaw than ever see episodes 1 and 2 ever again.
demkat620
Yes, he can’t cast a female lead to save his life.
See: Gyllenhall, Maggie, and Holmes, Katie
Jason Bylinowski
@Yutsano:
Hyperviolent: check
Pretentious: check.
And this makes them less awesome, how again? Seriously though, some of his movies have not held up well. Reservoir Dogs is embarassingly bad to me now, though I do still like some of the gimmicks that he came up with to do his character-building. But that makes sense, as characters seems to be what Quentin does best. No way is it art, but Pulp Fiction really is a very entertaining movie, going to see it at the Georgia Theatre in Athens with all my new college friends will probably go down as one of the classic moments of my life, so perhaps there is some bias there.
General Winfield Stuck
@Yutsano:
i think you are likely right about that. Syfy, since not real, different category.
Shawn in ShowMe
For Burt Lancaster fans, of which I am one, one of the most fascinating and enigmatic movies ever, imho, was The Swimmer. The dialogue was mesmerizing.
Can’t say I’m a fan but I loved him in this role. Today his little pool hopping adventures would get a cap busted in him now, though. Gotta love the 60s.
gwangung
Meh. I hate reruns. Bad enough when Cheney did it with America in real life….
jeffreyw
Forbidden Planet
Elie
@freelancer:
I would add “The Serious Man” to the most recent list
As far as classics, Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times” is amazing given that is was produced in the early 30’s… hilarious and yet poignant….Highly recommended and you can still rent it in big cities with a big assortment of DVDs..
I have loved so many movies that its hard to come up with a top ten…
My young romantic self totally loved “A Man and a Woman” both for its visual images and sound track — it had a profound effect on a young romantic going off to College and I will never forget it…
Annie
@Fern:
Yes. The Commitments…I do watch it over and over. Pure joy!
Elie
@Shawn in ShowMe:
Man I totally hear you and agree…
Its a jewel
JK
@Corner Stone:
If you’re looking for great science fiction films, try The Andromeda Strain (1971), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), Primer (2004), and Slaughterhouse-Five (1972). I’ll assume you’ve already seen 2001: A Space Odyssey.
freelancer
@JK:
WTF? Hold Gibbs’ feet to the fire over BULLSHIT Beltway Cocktail party tabloidia?
Fuck her and her idiotic question.
General Winfield Stuck
@jeffreyw:
Oh yes, and with stunning FX for it’s era. Good choice sir.
Elie
Does anyone remember the first Cohen Bros movie: “Blood Simple”? Loved it
inkadu
@Tom Hilton: I liked Serenity. The only flaw was I couldn’t figure out how the Reavers can figure out how to fly and maintain space ships. It’s the one necessary conceit my brain is not willing to swallow. I haven’t seen all of Firefly so I might be missing some of the story. But it seems to point to a sad reality: mixed space SF and zombies don’t mix.
Yutsano
@Jason Bylinowski:
If I had to sit through one movie of his, it would be Pulp Fiction, if for no other reason than I get pretty much what he was trying to do with that movie, even if I found the situations ridiculous. Or it’s because my brother can quote Samuel L. Jackson in that entire movie verbatim and it’s just a defense mechanism now. Either way.
Corner Stone
@Demo Woman: Pan’s was a beautiful film, great casting, cinematography, wicked hook – all that. I’ll just never watch it again because it kills my whole damn week.
The Contender was very good, excellent stuff, but I think it got a little too cute in parts. Specifically when Bridges as the Prez got the Senator to committ so easily to fully backing that alternative candidate. No F’ng way that happens in real life. It was a cutesy movie gag.
Given that, I think Joan Allen is hot.
New Yorker
I’m not much of a film buff, but I like my rock n roll, so I’ll just list my 10 favorite rock albums of this decade:
1. “Z”, My Morning Jacket
2. “Elephant”, The White Stripes
3. “Dear Science”, TV on the Radio
4. “You in Reverse”, Built to Spill
5. “Broken Boy Soldiers”, The Raconteurs
6. “1372 Overton Park”, Lucero
7. Pearl Jam (the avocado album)
8. “Lateralus”, Tool
9. “Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike”, Gogol Bordello
10. “Separation Sunday”, The Hold Steady
JK
@Elie:
The Man Who Wasn’t There – the most underrated Coen brothers’ movie.
Cat Lady
@Elie:
Yes, Blood Simple was one of those movies that I thought about for a very long time, and got me intrigued by Frances McDormand. Fargo blew my mind.
Yutsano
@inkadu: That really is the big flaw in Serenity, you really do have to watch the TV series (which was horrifically butchered by FOX, thanks Uncle Rupert!) to understand how the Reavers do what they do. Not that I don’t love that film, I do, but the fact that you miss too much without a primer makes a movie just not work for me.
freelancer
@demkat620:
Touche,
Scarlett Johanssen was next to worthless in The Prestige.
@Elie:
Haven’t seen that yet, though I want to. Not to blog whore but dinner’s about ready and I’m lazy: Best movies of 2009.
General Winfield Stuck
@Elie:
To me, that is close to their best. Fargo prolly the best. But BS is up there with it.
inkadu
Apropos of nothing: I’d like to put Joss Whedon and JJ Abrams together in a jar and shake it.
South of I-10
Gumbo is cooking, red wine is poured, where is my snow? I was promised snow!
Elie
“Blade Runner” to me a memorable SYfy that was really visually amazing and hints at the alienation we feel now…
freelancer
damn.
No Edit.
Also, Why the Fuck is The Road in like a super limited release?! I live in a metro area of a million people, but I’d still have to drive to KC if I wanted to see it say, tomorrow.
Jason Bylinowski
tw hours into this, and nobody mentions Koyaanisqatsi. C’mon, I thought you guys were artsy.
jeffreyw
Eat Drink Man Woman
Yutsano
@inkadu: The result could be either pure genius or a total abortion. But either way should be interesting.
JK
@New Yorker:
Speaking of Z, Z, directed by Costra Gavras, is one of the best foreign language films ever made.
demkat620
@freelancer: District 9 is one of those movies that bothers you for a long time afterward.
Hard to look away. Its good stuff.
Elie
@General Winfield Stuck:
Yep — Fargo was I agree the best…but Blood Simple had a particularly impact for when it first came out — and there was nothing else in that genre then — and how it pulled your emotions exactly two ways at once — laughter and horror…I will never forget it…
Cat Lady
@Elie:
Get out of my head Elie.
CynDee
@BethanyAnne: Tip: Netflix costs a lot less than cable.
arguingwithsignposts
@Elie:
As far as classics go, (via the gf) try “Mon Oncle” or other Jacques Tati movies are hilarious slapstick mostly silent films.
Yutsano
@Cat Lady: Ahhh another BJ mindmeld. Life is now complete.
JK
@freelancer:
April Ryan = Clueless Tool
What about A Serious Man for your list of best films of 2009?
AhabTRuler
@Elie: One must watch the Director’s Cut to appreciate the film. When you strip out the narration, the film becomes much more ambiguous.
Shell
You’re obviously lumping these two together into that category, ‘Chick Flick.’ (God, I hate that phrase.)
‘Shakespeare In Love’ was witty, nicely paced, had good dialogue and fun, well written characters. ‘Titanic’ was over-blown, self-important, with scenes and dialogue that made you wince.
But, that’s just me.
Titanic always makes me think of another huge, big budget film that won the Oscar. 1952’s ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’ It’s almost unwatchable.
inkadu
@Yutsano: I started watching Firefly but it was too good. I watched it and thought, “This is obviously awesome! Who in their right fucking mind would cancel this?” I’d finish every episode entertained and enraged in equal measure and just had to stop.
But I read a few explanations of why it got cancelled, and none of them held up. The characters were clear, compelling, and well acted. The dialogue was sparkling, as always. The plots moved along without needing detailed information from other episodes… the only explanation that made sense was a new exec started at the network and he wanted to start with a clean slate. I hope he’s living under a bridge now.
Inkadu smash.
Elie
@jeffreyw:
Yep —
Also, Eat a Bowl of Soup —
How about ‘Monsoon Wedding”? (I know — off to India) — These are just rolling off my mind now ….
“Into the Wilderness”
I loved this…it was an allegory for youth an impetuousness that too many interpreted too literally as about a kid that gets stuck and dies in the Alaskan wilderness — not seeing that we all go through our image of challenge and “wilderness” as we grow up and lay out who we are…
Jason Bylinowski
I was late to the party, having seen District 9 just last weekend. I went into it thinking, sure, South Africa, Aliens, what an obvious concept, I’ll probably hate it. But nope, best movie I’ve seen all year so far. Sure, the parallel is as obvious as I expected but the dark comedy and the sheer action (Peter Jackson’s WETA effects studio is the obvious successor to Lucasarts, it’s a phenomenal group) were enough to leave my jaw slightly dropped the whole time. Plus I really, really, really loved Wikus, the main character. That guy has potential.
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@General Winfield Stuck: Ugh. Hated that movie, and could not stop watching it.
freelancer
@Elie:
All the Coen love, and no one mentions Miller’s Crossing. It’s like the seminal prohibition gangster movie. Inspired by Hammett and Chandler, brilliant cast, better script.
I could watch that movie once a week for the rest of my life and never tire of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thXTjcMnEdY
Tx Expat
@South of I-10:
I hear it’s coming around 9 pm. They’re talking about canceling our finals at LSU tomorrow morning.
Hey, can you answer me this: why does it feel so cold down here even when it’s only 50 degrees? When I lived in Seattle, 50 degrees was no big deal (warm even) but down here I am FREEZING. Humidity perhaps? Or have I just gotten acclimated?
jeffreyw
Heimat
JK
@freelancer:
My guess is that the studio believes the film is too much of a downer to pull in big bucks. Although, this begs the question, if that’s their attitude why make the movie in the first place?
Elie
@AhabTRuler:
I will remember that… time to look at that again real soon
Yutsano
@Jason Bylinowski: Hmmm…may have to consult with the recently unemployed movie watching buddies and twist a couple of rubber arms to see it. The husband I’m sure will bite but the wife will be the tough sell. Oh well we’ll get another for her and that should do it.
Shell
Oh, yes! The opening sequence is enough to make you feel faint.
And, with many of the same actors, ‘The Wedding Banquet’
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@inkadu: Brother Sun, Sister Moon
Mike in NC
It would be pretty hard to pick a “Top Ten” for Big Burt. I only list these because I’ve seen each at least once: Sweet Smell of Success, Birdman of Alcatraz, The Professionals, Go Tell The Spartans, Elmer Gantry, From Here To Eternity, Judgement at Nuremberg, Ulzana’s Raid, Valdez is Coming, & Seven Days in May. I have a weakness for revisionist Westerns, I guess…
Jason Bylinowski
@Shell: What’s really funny about this observation is that, as bad as Titanic is, New Moon makes it look like Casablanca.
freelancer
@JK:
Haven’t seen A Serious Man yet. Plan to though.
General Winfield Stuck
@SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta:
Ha. same here. The best movie for me about drunks was Ironweed, and had the added pleasure with Tom Waits in a movie role. And Meryl Steep was just fantastic in it.
Same thing though, hated watching it, but couldn’t stop.
Corner Stone
@South of I-10:
Oh my God! Y’all didn’t catch it?
I had two rounds of the Mother of All Snowball Fights a mi casa hoy.
It snowed all damn day from before 7am until about 5pm.
It was totally awesome since I know it’s a random nonsense and I’ll never have to shovel a driveway!
F’ng Fantastic!
flavored coffee lover
Ooh, did someone say top ten films (in no particular order)?
Glory
GoodFellas
Lethal Weapon 1
The Producers (Zero Mostel & Gene Wilder, thanks)
anything with Bugs Bunny (cartoons count!)
Little Miss Sunshine
Fargo
The Guns of Navarone
History of Violence (Viggo….yeah, baby!)
Blazing Saddles
jeffreyw
Indochine
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@Fern: Great movie.
Cat Lady
@Elie:
Read the Philip K. Dick story “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” too, for the whole context.
WALL-E is probably my favorite movie in the last few years. I’m still amazed that a cartoon robot moved me more than any human on film has, except perhaps for Meryl Streep making her choice in Sophie’s Choice.
Ruckus
@Dreggas:
Thanks for the laugh. Falling on the floor laughing is not as painful as having a heart attack laughing nor as painful as the story sounds and at least you know it’s not because of one’s own stupidity.
Corner Stone
@Tx Expat: What kind of a Tx Expat are you?
Robertdsc-iphone
10 for the 2000s, in no particular order:
the LOTR trilogy with Two Towers as my favorite.
Revenge Of The Sith. Anakin Skywalker’s fall was exquisite.
The Hours with Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, & Julianne Moore. Painful & sad but wonderful at the same time.
21 Grams. Naomi Watts owns my soul.
Hero directed by Zhang Yimou. Best Kung Fu movie I’ve seen in years.
Far From Heaven with Julianne Moore.
Eastern Promises with Naomi & Viggo.
Batman Begins. Such a strong cast & story. I liked it better than The Dark Knight.
Black Hawk Down. Ridley Scott is great.
Gladiator, even though I can’t watch it now because Russell Crowe is a disgusting animal. When this movie was in the theaters, I saw it 13 times. My ex, who I’d just broken up with a few months earlier, suggesed I see it. The first 10 minutes were like a sponge for the pain in my soul.
freelancer
@JK:
I didn’t know that you could save money by NOT SCREENING THE MOVIE.
Theaters themselves don’t make dick off of ticket sales, that mostly goes straight to the studios, that’s why you have to pay $7 for a popcorn and $5 for a gallon of diet coke, $11 if you get the combo.
General Winfield Stuck
@jeffreyw:
Man, you are trolling my lost memory of great movies. Deneuve was great in it. Though the book was better, IMO.
Just watched it again this past summer.
Elie
Elizabeth — (not sure I have the title down here but its the Kate Blanchet movie — one of the most amazing depictions of the burden of leadership and she just did this to death)
Another romantic favorite of mine: “Out of Africa” (I know I know, too much over the top smarminess but I really dug it — sound track was great too — again my romantic side)
inkadu
@Shell: “Titanic” and “Shakespeare in Love,” belong together in the category of emotional pap, though clearly SiL has better writing.
@Yutsano: I’ve been watching “Fringe” and “Lost” lately. Abrams seems great at writing large, complex engaging mystery plots that give you just enough information to keep you interested. Whedon is good at everything else — dialogue, character, and by-episode plotting. Unfortunately, I don’t think creativity works by taking the best of each collaborator. But if shaking them together in the jar doesn’t work, I can always pull out my magnifying glass and wait for a sunny day. Either way, I’ll be entertained.
Elie
@Robertdsc-iphone:
Batman Begins has my vote .. the first of the Batman movies to capture the essense of his darkness in the right way…agree completely
jeffreyw
Transsiberian
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@Shell: Speaking of Gillian Anderson, have to add Bleak House as one of my favorite films.
General Winfield Stuck
So am I, which is likely why he’s about my favorite actor these days. Though Denzel and Clooney not far behind.
Shell
Of Mel Brook’s movies, the best have been ‘The Producers’, of course. But my favorite is ‘High Anxiety.’ How can you not love Barry Levinson (director of Rain Man) as a murderous bellboy?
JK
Best films no one has mentioned so far
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid
The Daytrippers
Mikey and Nicky
Husbands
Chaos (2001) – French film
After Life (1998) – Japanese film
Corner Stone
@Shell: The only category I’m lumping them into is “awful”.
Gwyneth Paltrow? Affleck?
Some say that would be enough.
freelancer
I for one, recently am of the mind that Kyle Chandler is one of the best actors ever.
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@Shawn in ShowMe: Love Gloria Grahame, but don’t know if I’ve seen that movie. She was great in It’s a Wonderful Life and In A Lonely Place with Bogart.
Tx Expat
@Corner Stone:
It’s looking like a permanent one, if you’re asking about geography. In the last 5 years I’ve lived in Seattle, Cairo, Egypt and LA. If you’re asking about personality, well I’m gonna have to get back to you after I check the DSM IV. (grin)
Jason Bylinowski
Scary movies are not as cool to put on lists, but did anyone see The Descent? That is probably the scariest movie I’ve ever seen, and as such probably deserves to be on some sort of list or another.
South of I-10
@Tx Expat: It’s the humidity. I think it doesn’t help that you have such wild temperature swings, you know, 85 to 40 in a few hours. I just covered all of my still blooming hibiscus so they won’t die tonight.
jeffreyw
The Kite Runner
Corner Stone
@inkadu:
I agree. And just so you know, Netflix streaming solves this dilemma.
If you see a series that gets a little hype, don’t bother watchit it, or reading about it. Let it fester for a season or two, then queue that bad dawg up for instant streaming.
If it makes it that far then you have something to sink your teeth into and can watch it on your time.
If it sinks then you haven’t grit your teeth about something that’s not going to be there.
Cat Lady
In no particular order:
The Mission
WALL-E
Good Will Hunting
The Godfather II
Blade Runner
2001
Being There
Z
Fargo
Adaptation
ksmiami
On the movie side, I just rewatched Landis’ American Werewolf in London. Pure genius! I forgot the name of the bar, The Slaughtered Lamb!
jeffreyw
Letters from Iwo Jima
freelancer
@Jason Bylinowski:
agreed. I don’t go in for scary movies that much. I think a lot of horror is just stupid or silly. The Descent scared the crap out of me.
South of I-10
@Corner Stone: It’s cold as hell, and we have had a sleet/snow mix, but it hasn’t changed over to just snow. No accumulation. I was hoping it would, as this would be the first time in my life to have snow for two consecutive years. Okay, other than when I lived in Oklahoma. But if you want to appreciate Louisiana, go live in Oklahoma for a few years.
ksmiami
Mystic River, No Country for Old Men, The Godfather trilogy, La Dolce Vita, The Hangover Movie
Yutsano
@freelancer: I can’t stand horror flicks, have hated every single one I’ve watched. Having said that, I could stand to see Paranormal Activity, if for no other reason than most of the terror is in your head.
General Winfield Stuck
New Libby Pic
burnspbesq
@r€nato:
Just got back from dinner and haven’t had time to Wade through all the comments, but…
Gran Torino
Eastern Promises
Howl’s Moving Castle
The Road to Perdition
Persepolis
The Departed
Mystic River
inkadu
@Tx Expat: 296.80
@Robertdsc-iphone: I saw Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet” about a dozen times in a similarly difficult emotional situation. Rode my bike to the movie theater on a 2-3 times a week for about a month…
It’s interesting how movies can get you through some hard times. I don’t think it would have worked to see it on TV, though. It had to be a larger-than-life religious experience. What gets me through during hard times on TV-scale is “Futurama.”
Jason Bylinowski
And of course, no blatant braggadocio of film coolness would be complete without mentioning Tokyo Godfathers of Grave of the Fireflies. Both of those animated movies made me cry very surprised tears.
Tx Expat
@General Winfield Stuck:
I agree with you to a large degree although I think that Matt Damon has really matured as an actor over the years since Good Will Hunting. He was great in the Bourne movies, The Good Shepherd, The Departed and even those silly Ocean’s movies (which are good mindless fun). I’m really excited to see him in Invictus.
Oh and Clive Owen, also. Fully admitting that I am convinced that Clive needs to be my husband so might be a little prejudiced. ;)
JK
@freelancer:
Movie studio executives are a strange breed and I’d put nothing past them. I think they’d rather hold a film back from wide release and accept a small amount of revenue over doing a wide release and suffering the embarrassment of no one showing up to see it.
Yutsano
@Jason Bylinowski: @burnspbesq: OMG my otaku license needs to be revoked for TOTALLY overlooking Miyazaki! I haz a fail!
Elie
Animated — very powerful : “Waltzing Bashear” about Israeli memory of the agony of Lenanon and the horrible extermination at the Shattila refugee camp…totally amazing
Cat Lady
@General Winfield Stuck:
Oh. My. God. I CAN HAZ??
General Winfield Stuck
@Tx Expat:
Was going to list Matt but lazy, and I also agree completely with Clive Owen. A tour de force in Children of Men, as well as King Arthur, which could easily be added to my last decade fav list.
Elie
@burnspbesq:
Persepolis — Yeah!
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@General Winfield Stuck: Matt Dillon, Drug Store Cowbow. Painful as hell but mesmerizing. But I could watch him brush his teeth and be mesmerized.
wasabi gasp
Memento gets forgotten.
Yutsano
@JK: Believe it or not it’s a marketing strategy. Think Paranormal Activity. They didn’t give that wide release until they knew people were clamoring to see it and it just grew from there. They’re trying to get lightning to strike over and over again, instead of letting enthusiasm build a la My Big Fat Greek Wedding (which I still love BTW).
General Winfield Stuck
@wasabi gasp:
It shouldn’t be.
RedKitten
@Elie:
Oh, for certain. That coffee table has been sat upon, danced on, fallen on, had dinky cars raced over it, joints rolled on it, countless wet glasses set upon it, probably the odd line or two snorted off of it (hey, it WAS the ’70’s, and my parents threw a lot of parties), and the damn thing looks brand-new.
And a second (third?) to Eat, Drink, Man, Woman. Excellent, excellent movie.
Cat Lady
@wasabi gasp:
Heh.
Corner Stone
@South of I-10:
Same could be said for the 7th Circle of Hell, but I gets ya.
We got it today and it was awesome.
JK
Does anyone recall when the media began regularly reporting the top grossing movies of the weekend?
demkat620
@burnspbesq: Howl’s Moving Castle is one of my watch it with the kids and I love it more than they do movies.
But Spirited Away is a great movie. Insane, but great.
Corner Stone
And can I just say?
Tiger Woods – pay for the $10,000 call girl.
SiubhanDuinne
@fern
Oh god, I need to have my eyes checked. You listed *The Commitments* but I read *Ten Commandments.*
Yutsano
@JK: For as long as I can remember. I recall seeing reports like this in the 80’s.
Elie
@Cat Lady:
Yep —
The Mission — OMG! What an experience…
I also liked Apocalypto and I typically hate whatsisname…but I thought he captured the Aztecs pretty authentically…and with great emotion…I could relate anyway…
Jason Bylinowski
@wasabi gasp: i see what you d…..wait, what were we talking about?
demkat620
@General Winfield Stuck: Aw. She’s a sweety! How could you not love that face?
inkadu
@Corner Stone: As far as production decisions go, I don’t exist. I won’t watch anything until they’ve done at least a season, and then I’ll watch all the episodes one after the other. I don’t know if I’m impatient or have a bad memory or what, but I would rather not be jerked around by having to wait a week (or more) to find out What Happened. Heck, I just finished watching the last season of “Lost” all at once, and I’m still not sure I know what happened.
I was reading a thread about “Fringe” (somewhere else) and people were complaining that Thursday was a terrible night, because their DVR’s slots were already full from 3 other shows. My first thought was, “Jesus Christ, people, don’t you have other things to do? Have you not heard of blogs?” But my second was, “You still watch TV shows as they air?” I wonder how small a minority I’m in.
Svensker
Lawrence of Arabia, Wizard of Oz, Bridge on the River Kwai, Groundhog Day, Dr. Strangelove, Bringing Up Baby, Apocalypse Now, Pan’s Labyrinth, Mon Oncle.
I am old, father William.
South of I-10
@Corner Stone: There is no Mardi Gras in Oklahoma. I am still hoping, it is still sleeting.
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
Partial list:
Dial M for Murder
K-PAX
The Painted Veil
Howard’s End
A Beautiful Mind
Gattaca
Gosford Park
Elie
@Svensker:
Oh Man, now you done did it….
“Toto, I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore”
Larwrence of Arabia, Dr Strangelove — Yeah Apocalypse Now — I will NEVER forget ever!!!!!
Geez I love movies
Anne Laurie
I do not watch enuf Great Fillums to make up a list worth reading (still gotta watch Pan’s Labyrinth, for instance), so I will just comment about the Otaku Faves that I do understand…
The Incredibles and Up are both waaay overrated. Believe it or not, the first Ice Age movie was better than either — Scrat is the inheritor of Chaplin’s mantel. If you can watch his crazed, doomed quest without wetting yourself laughing, you may need to check your medication. But if you want a “classic” animation from the last decade, go watch Howl’s Moving Castle (again).
I was a Tolkien phan back before Elvish was cool. I saw the first part of Jackson’s Epic in the theatre, and was not impressed with either Mortensen’s glower or Liv Tyler’s lips. With all those special effects, they should have spent another couple hundred dollars for a more competent scriptwriter. Still haven’t watched the other two, just because I’ve never needed to kill 37 hours that badly.
Fahrenheit 911 was better than Bowling for Columbine. Yes, it was flawed, but it’s one of those documentaries that should be included in any time capsule about our recent disgraceful history.
And if I had to pick one recent movie for the Great Art Library, it would be Doubt. Streep & Hoffman at their considerable best, plus an excellent script of a great story.
Elie
You guys are hurtin me!!! I wish I could do a moviethon right tonight!
Cat Lady
@SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta:
You were the other person who saw Gattaca? I loved that!
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta: What a cowbow?
Elie
@General Winfield Stuck:
Is this a new baby, General?
Corner Stone
@inkadu:
Obviously, that’s most likely a generational segue.
And I agree with you. Why the hell would I bother trying to be in front of a delivery system when *they* want me to be there? My life has nothing to do with that anymore, beyond the sports I choose to watch realtime.
I recently had a chance to watch several seasons of Numbers, right in a row. It was kind of mind blowing. The show was good but I took the leads they provided regarding the science/theory and ended up reading about 5 books from that.
WTS, can’t watch Lost. I don’t need some fucking yahoo to yank me for no damn reason. I can pay good money if I want that service, thank you.
Again, what this means for distribution channels? And funding for said channels, talent, etc?
No clue.
JK
@Yutsano:
As far as I can recall, the reporting of top grossing films for the weekend didn’t exist in the 1970’s, so sometime in the 1980’s makes sense. The movie business was never a non-profit endeavor, but I think this obsession of making a killing at the box office with every release is stifling creativity.
TEL
@Shawn in ShowMe: That’s one of the classics! I haven’t seen very many of the noir films, but that was near the top of my must-see list when I started watching them. The coffee in the face scene alone is famous.
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@Svensker: Oh yes! Bringing up Baby! I’ve seen it many, many times and still howl at “Mr. Bone”.
Tx Expat
@inkadu:
Bi-Polar? That’s not very nice! I will take it as ribbing, but having to live with close relatives with that disease it is surely no joke. My bi-polar grandmother has now managed to so alienate her children that two of them have told there that the next time they will see her is at her funeral.
Desert Mouse
For comedy pics: “Ruthless People” and “A Fish Called Wanda”.
joes527
The Dish.
But I’m a sucker for the Apollo Landing. I tear up every time.
khead
Stalag 17
The Caine Mutiny
12 Angry Men
On the Waterfront
Sunset Boulvard
I don’t think anyone ever said which decade.
As for recent comedies, I am one of the 10 or so people that saw – and enjoyed – Dewey Cox.
General Winfield Stuck
@demkat620:
Her mug is my desktop background, best one ever.
JK
@SiubhanDuinne:
There’s a mash-up I’d love to see.
General Winfield Stuck
@Elie:
No, I wish it were though. A flickr friends doggie.
SiubhanDuinne
@SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
With you on Gloria Grahame. And I don’t know whether movie musicals are fair game in this thread, but Grahame is why I continue to love *Oklahoma!* to this day. No one but GG could combine adorable coyness with blatant (for the 1950s) sexuality the way GG did in “I’m jist a girl who cain’t say no” or “With me it’s all or nothing.”
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@Cat Lady: Yes, but I had to look up the title, never can remember it. Kept thinking Gothica which is of course a totally different movie! I thought Jude Law was incredible.
arguingwithsignposts
@Desert Mouse:
Wow, I’m just amazed nobody has mentioned Holy Grail or Life of Brian yet.
Cat Lady
@SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta:
I love movies that play with dystopia. It’s almost here….
Elie
@RedKitten:
Our current house is “modern” — built in ’96 — nice floor plan but my hubby and I will never forget our old Craftsman bungalow in Atlanta…
Plaster latticed walls half a foot thick — all the old good oak floors that were wavy with age and the built ins around the fireplace in the living room…16 foot ceilings with crown mouldings all around….butler’s pantry with glass insets and breakfast nook…. 100 year old Magnolia in front and back yard..
sigh
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
@SiubhanDuinne: The bad girl with a heart of gold :)
Elie
@khead:
All of those are amazing movies.
As I said, I would love to do a movie marathon
Linkmeister
Best slapstick comedy: It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
Best debut by an actress who later went on to do scintillating stage work: Kathleen Turner in Body Heat
Best use of B/W film, political drama: Fail Safe
Best horror without gore: Wait Until Dark
Elie
@Desert Mouse:
Ha,ha, ha…
I have to pull away — too many great movies
Elie
@Linkmeister:
Fail Safe and Wait Until Dark…
Man…
Fail Safe most of all…
JK
@Linkmeister:
Advise and Consent, The Best Man, and Seven Days in May, also.
Linkmeister
@Elie: It was the still shots at the end that nailed it.
MikeJ
40 years on tour. Only one choice for the opening song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMnnPI5GUps original video, shitty audio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izdO_yMGDL4
graphics over better quality audio
SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta
Two more:
Immortal Beloved
The Illusionist
Jason Bylinowski
Classic films: Harvey. Rear Window.
Films with really beautiful people in them: Rear Window.
inkadu
@JK: Probably around they same time they fired their movie reviewer to pay for high-tech weather graphics.
@Corner Stone: My girlfriend and I get along very well, except when it comes to TV. I figured out that she doesn’t watch TV… she has a relationship with the people on TV. It’s why 30 Rock and The Office just aren’t the same on Hulu as when they’re on her teevee, why she has to watch Conan and Jimmy Fallon, and it’s why I end up going to sleep at 1:30 every night. . She’s going through a rough time now, though, what since they cancelled “Guiding Light,” and all.
And, yeah, it’s going to be an interesting shake out for television… they really need to figure out a better way to fund and distribute entertainment. And if they can’t, it might mean shows with lower budgets. I can deal with that.
I’ll look into Numb3rs… at least it’s based on some sound science, by your argument. Fringe, while not as much as a jerk-fest as Lost, has execrable science. It’s science as magic as plot device… And I agree about “Lost.” I just enjoy watching Benjamin Linus kill people.
burnspbesq
My fave movie that no one else on Earth seems to have seen: “The Boxer,” with Daniel Day Lewis and Emily Watson.
khead
Movie that creeped me out when I was younger: Prince of Darkness. Now? Not so much.
JK
@burnspbesq:
Speaking of Daniel Day Lewis and Emily Watson, 2 films featuring great performances by them – The Unbearable Lightness of Being with Lewis and Breaking the Waves with Watson.
JK
Dogville
inkadu
@Tx Expat: Bipolar doesn’t have to be so horrible that it alienates everyone around you… mania might just do something like, I don’t know, motivate a mad dash to Seattle, Cairo, and Los Angeles… But, yeah, I know. It’s a terrible disease.
Autboy
@inkadu: but Chinatown
General Winfield Stuck
@JK:
A masterpiece. Introduced (I think) Juliet Binoche to the movies and with the always delectable Lena Olin.
Autboy
@wasabi gasp: lol
inkadu
@Autboy:
I just wanted to get in my absolutely crushing reply before you had a chance to edit your post.
Autboy
@Tom Hilton: Shaun of the Dead!
Tx Expat
@inkadu:
Ok, lived in Seattle for 15 years, went to Cairo for a grad school program and am now in Louisiana for law school. If you want to categorize that as mania, go for it. And fuck you.
Autboy
totally obscure and in my top ten: Coppola’s “The Conversation”
Jason Bylinowski
@inkadu: I watch Lost for Ben’s psychosis as well, and to watch John Locke piss off Jack Sheppard on a nearly constant basis. The letter that John wrote Jack in season 4 really broke me up though.
Best War Movie: The Thin Red Line. Jim Caviezel’s first major role, and damned impressive. Sean Penn his usual genius self. Too bad he didn’t really seem to live up to his potential.
Corner Stone
@inkadu:
It’s character, story and action driven – after all it’s based on a Cali FBI team.
But, there is some real deal math and math theory behind a lot of the shiz they spout.
Regardless of the entertainment factor, the theories and thinkers they cite/quote on the show are real and are freakin’ awesome for people like me who are always looking for new insight into solving new problems.
Other than that – guns go blammo and me likey.
Corner Stone
@Jason Bylinowski:
Was this out of order? Or maybe missing a sentence?
JK
@inkadu:
Why?
For Tolkien fans, what about the film version of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe? I assume there’s some overlap between J.R.R. Tolkien fans and C.S. Lewis fans.
Corner Stone
@Tx Expat: Sounds kinda cool to me.
Jason Bylinowski
@Corner Stone: Good catch. The Sean Penn sentence was a late addition. The “too bad” line was meant for Cavielzel.
Jason Bylinowski
Shit, I just can’t keep up with this thread without killing my typing accuracy. You guys are totally too cool for school.
JK
@Autboy:
Absolutely brilliant film that Coppola sandwiched between The Godfather and The Godfather Part II.
inkadu
@Tx Expat: Dude, you were the one who brought the DSM into it. I was just playing along. wtf? 301.0?
Elie
@Linkmeister:
Unhum – you got it..
Must also add “Chinatown”
Elie
I am going to check out the Conversation …
Elie
@General Winfield Stuck:
I know this one — haunting… agree
inkadu
@Jason Bylinowski: Linus is an amazing character/actor… really compelling. John Locke dropped off a bit in the last season, since he was supremely confident (explained at the end of the season) and that was annoying. I’m afraid Lost just doesn’t hold together as a whole: it’s a roller coaster that turns into a log flume that turns into a house of horrors…
@JK:
You would like to think that, wouldn’t you? Tolkien and Lewis are like Catholic and Orthodox, Italian and Greek… just the right amount of familiarity to breed contempt.
Autboy
@Jason Bylinowski: oh hell, THE DESCENT – masterpiece.
Autboy
@JK: yeah, typically i can take Hackman only in small doses, but man, in the Conversation… that’s about as close to perfect acting as it gets IMO
Tx Expat
@inkadu:
Wasn’t picking up on your humor. Thing is, a lot of my relatives have serious mental illnesses, it was hard to tell if you were joking or not, so forgive me for going off. The one I will cop to is 300.4. which I believe is Generalized Anxiety Disorder AKA the disorder that everyone in law school has. Peace…
CynDee
– To Kill a Mockingbird
– Raiders of the Lost Ark
– The African Queen
– The Glass Slipper (Leslie Caron)
– Persuasion (Amanda Root)
– Sense and Sensibility (Emma Thompson)
– Much Ado About Nothing (Kenneth Branagh)
– Shakespeare in Love
– Emma (Gwyneth Paltrow)
– Emma (Kate Beckinsale)
– Singing in the Rain
– The Ten Commandments
– Spartacus
– Ben Hur
– Moonstruck
– The Empire Strikes Back
– Chocolat
– Holocaust
– Julia
– Sirens
Autboy
more gems from the obscurity bin…Kirk Douglas & Walter Matthau in Lonely Are The Brave
Corner Stone
@Jason Bylinowski: Not being a pedant, it just struck me as , whuh?
I thought that was it but you never know at BJ.
You just never fucking know here.
Jason Bylinowski
@inkadu: I agree about LOST to an extent – it’s my favorite American show but it’s far from perfect. (Neon Genesis: Evangelion is my fave TV show of all time in any genre, and it’s pretty freakin’ far from perfect too). Season 3 was atrocious, and most of Season 4. Five though, as convoluted as it was, started being fun in a way that was very un-LOST but good TV anyway. To be honest, for a show which is all about the characters, nobody ever learns anything in LOST, and that is probably the worst thing I can think of to say about it. That said, though, the first two seasons are epic, funny and compelling. I remember being utterly flabbergasted that some stuffy network exec ever decided to take a chance on it.
JK
@Autboy:
Character actor Allen Garfield has some great scenes in The Conversation. The first time I saw Harrison Ford was in The Conversation.
JK
@Jason Bylinowski:
Speaking of Sean Penn, who will ever forget his performance in Fast Times at Ridgemont High? He steals the movie.
Jason Bylinowski
@JK: Fast Times…..I know soooo much about that movie from my friends, but have never seen it. One of the many essential movies I still haven’t gotten around to yet. Psycho, The Deer Hunter, Citizen Kane. There are just so many damned movies, you could never really watch them all. It’s even worse with books. It actually angers me that I’m going to go to my grave only having partaken of a few great works. God, and think of all the crap you have to suffer through just to get to the goodies! Life is cruel.
Keith G
@Corner Stone: Yes, snow in Houston is so surreal. The roofs of the near downtown bungalows were covered. A very fun day.
Corner Stone
@Jason Bylinowski:
If this is your list…Fast Times first. No doubt.
burnspbesq
@Keith G:
Snow in Houston? OMG, the carnage on the West Loop must have been unreal. Good day to own a body shop.
JK
Best use of Baba O’Reilly and Won’t Get Fooled Again in a movie – Summer of Sam
I’d still consider Summer of Sam a great movie even if its soundtrack didn’t include these 2 songs, but they definitely added to my enjoyment of it.
JK
@Jason Bylinowski:
I certainly feel this way when I look at any of those megalists of the 1,000 greatest movies or 1,000 greatest novels.
Notorious P.A.T.
@Corner Stone:
My soul brother.
Keith G
@burnspbesq: Well, the AM was not that bad. It had been predicted for a while. People were metally ready, maybe.
Corner Stone
@demkat620: QoS was less than optimal. But I can tell you that I will square off against you like Spock vs Kirk in a deathmatch before I ever agree that C Royale w/ D C was not a great damn watcher.
The first 20 mins or so deserve to be in action movie HoF.
BethanyAnne
@CynDee: Ah, yes, but I’m living with Mom because I got poor. She has cable already.
BethanyAnne
@Corner Stone: Pbbbt!
Oh, and I agree with ellaesther above, Brokeback Mountain has to go on my list. I was so impressed by how Ang Lee made a foreign film from Americana. And, of course, it breaks my heart and makes me sob. Gotta be on my list.
AkaDad
400+ comments and nobody has Saving Private Ryan on their list.
I may have to change my name to Not Sure.
Phoebe
I like the entire tenor of that post, and the two movies I really loved from, oh, wait, they were 2008. Screw it. They were still great:
Let the Right One In
Shotgun Stories
Svensker
@SIA aka ScreamingInAtlanta:
You told them my name was Bone and you didn’t tell me.