(no subject)

[ursamajor]

Happy birthday, noghri! (Dear self, actually remembering to hit post before going to bed means it'll actually post and birthday wishes will go out in a timely fashion. Though I did at least get to the birthday wishes in person, being local and all.)

Speaking of Steve, we had a conversation last week about movies - I didn't grow up seeing a lot of them, and I don't tend to go see them a lot now, either - the last movie I saw in the theatre was Happy Feet, and before that, I think it was the third X-Men movie. So I have a number of "holes" in my movie-culture-awareness.

ursamajor: .... bruno's comparing her to tiffany. oy.
noghri: no... breakfast at tiffany's
ursamajor: oh, heh, okay, i just heard half the sentence i guess
ursamajor: ... another movie i've not actually, uh, seen. *ducks*
noghri: i just saw it recently.. still on my tivo... very good... she's an amazing woman
ursamajor: chuckles and adds it to her wish list.
ursamajor: casablanca is on there, too *G*
noghri: freak.. see it already
ursamajor: okay, what else do i absolutely have to see that it's a crime i haven't already?
noghri: i don't remember what you haven't seen yet...
ursamajor: start from the beginning and assume nothing except princess bride, when harry met sally, and a few '80s movies *G*
noghri: casablanca, singing in the rain, guys and dolls, star wars, raiders of the lost ark, back to the future, silence of the lambs, an officer and a gentleman, empire of the sun,
ursamajor: i've seen singing in the rain! with you! back to the future, yes; five of the six star wars, yes
noghri: schindler's list, butch cassidy and the sundance kid, spartacus, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, dr. strangelove, monty python
noghri: the graduate
ursamajor: monty python, dozens of times :)
noghri: godfather
noghri: citizen kane
noghri: i think that's enough to get you started
ursamajor giggles
ursamajor: i fell asleep 20 minutes into the godfather.
noghri: freak
ursamajor: theconvictor was offended for like two days. *G*

Now, I saw Singing in the Rain with noghri (yes, dance scenes on repeat). I've seen five of the six Star Wars movies (still haven't been able to bring myself to watch the second prequel), all of the Indiana Jones movies (though the rumor that there's a *new* one coming out now is moderately disturbing to me), the Back to the Future trilogy. I walked out of a dorm showing of Silence of the Lambs halfway through because it was creeping me out (then again, I was also a very-easily-creeped-out high school freshman). One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was part of English class junior year; Monty Python and the Holy Grail was played on every single bus ride home for vacation from high school. Citizen Kane I saw as part of a film class in college, and I fell asleep on theconvictor's shoulder in the aforementioned viewing of The Godfather.

What movies do you consider your classics? Whether you mean ones you can watch over and over again, or movies that changed how you thought about something, or in general are must-see films, what are your standouts?

Separate geek note: I have now gotten it set up so I can download TV shows from the Tivo to my desktop, and stream music from the desktop up to the sound system. It's not quite ideal, because I let iTunes organize my music in a manner I think makes sense, but Tivo is a little more cantankerous about. I wonder if it recognizes playlists; it does allow for "shuffle" and "repeat" within a folder and its subfolders, but that makes pulling together something like a party mix more challenging, since I'd have to copy each file that I wanted to come up into a folder and direct the Tivo to play from there. Unless I can get it to recognize shortcuts. But that's still somewhat tedious.

All I have to say about last night's DWTS is, dear ladies, Heather Mills is fucking kicking your ass in the mambo, and she's doing it on one leg. The mambo is supposed to be IN YOUR FACE SEXY. Only Laila Ali was better. Not what I expected to be saying after last week.

Also, Joey Fatone's emblazoned tails cracked me up for the entirety of his dance, but he's pretty darned good. hyounpark is very sad that his teenage crush was sent home early, and I agree in that of the two bottom, the other chick should've gone home first, but, um, what, not Billy Ray Cyrus? Okay, there's no one as bad as Tucker Carlson this time out, but still!

Comments

[asciident]

OMG. You haven't seen Schindler's List? It makes me cry every time.

[ursamajor]

Nope, not yet! Though that is one I've been meaning to get to for a long time; I just never think of it when I'm at the rental shop.

[sooz617.livejournal.com]

You should watch Clue with the 3 alternate endings. Lots of great quotes there like "Men should be like kleenex, soft strong and disposable." Great stuff.

Holes is really good. It's a Disney flick so I was against watching it but I really really liked it.

Shawshank Redemption is a serious film but the ending is amazing.

If you like Meg Ryan, and I do, watch You've Got Mail. It's a great chick flick.

[ursamajor]

Shawshank Redemption made me bawl. That's one I want to pick up for keeps. And I liked Clue, too, though I'd forgotten that quote. *amused*

Chick flicks do tend to be my default, though - if we're just flipping channels and I come across one and watch even five minutes of it, I have to know - how does it turn out? Is there a Happy Ending?

What's Holes about?

[sooz617.livejournal.com]

Holes is about a boy and how his family's bad luck changes. He's sent to juvenile camp for committing a crime (one he didn't commit) and it goes over his time there. At this camp out in the desert, they dig holes looking for treasure for the camp director. It's an amazing story about ancestry and friendship.

[singularity.livejournal.com]

Let's see what movies might be good. Alien and Aliens for sure. I'd throw in Terminator and Terminator 2 if only due to amazing special effect sequences for their times and the fact that I love the series ;) Shawshank Redemption is excellent as well as Needful Things as amazing Stephen King adaptions that are must sees for all.

Memento was really cool for a who-done-it and I'm sure you heard about it's unique premise. Seven is a great thriller to watch with good actors in good roles.

Clockwork Orange is really good and the ideas still hold about what should be done in society for rehabilitation. Amazing movie. Now I'm sure you'll think me strange for this, but I do really enjoy Starship Troopers. It has some hidden meanings that survived from the book (amazing book!) like propaganda, war, etc that applies to our time.

As for some science fictions, Galaxy Quest is a great comedy movie that spoofs fandoms very well in an entertaining way. Ghostbusters was great for it's time and I still think it holds up well for fun.

Now, this last one is a personal fav of mine that I'm sure most would think is strange, but the Evil Dead series. I love Bruce Campbell and this series is just so much fun and represents the early work of some talented people. It's got some cheesy stuff that is just campy fun. The last one in the series got the biggest audience, Army of Darkness.

Anyway, big emphasis on sci-fi and related stuff due to my interests but I do recommend everything here.

[ursamajor]

Hahaha, oh my god, you just brought up so many Andrew memories for me :D I'd rented some movies for us to watch at my place the first time he came to visit me, and Memento was one of them. But we, er, got very distracted. *grin* And he's a big Bruce Campbell fan, so when I went down to visit him, he made me watch Army of Darkness. *ggl* Indeed, totally campy, but fun in its own way.

And I love Galaxy Quest! It's just so spot-on in certain fandom things, especially parodying cons in particular. Ghostbusters I feel like I must have watched it when I was a kid; between you and ladysisyphus recently ... I remembered liking it, but not enough to remember the characters' names and such. And I know I saw Terminator 2 in the theatre, because I remember the friend I went to see it with spilling her slurpee all over me and me consequently, well, shrieking like a little girl from the sudden cold wet ew. Haven't seen the Aliens flicks, though.

I feel half like I've seen A Clockwork Orange and half like I'm really mixing it up in my mind with Brazil, which probably means I haven't actually seen it.

[fes42.livejournal.com]

Um, where's Gone with the Wind? Waht about some of my favs: Forrest Gump? Some like it Hot? A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum? You might want to check out this link (http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/movie-pages/movie_acad-awar.php) and I am sure my mother could suggest a whole bunch more. She LOVES movies.

[ursamajor]

Haven't seen Gone with the Wind ... er, haven't actually even read the book, which is a shocker for me because usually I've at least read the book! I did like Forrest Gump, but haven't seen the other two. And thank you for the link!

[rhianona.livejournal.com]

Gentleman's Agreement and To Kill a Mockingbird are two of the best movies with Gregory Peck. The first was a movie that confronted antisemitism when it just wasn't done and is brilliant because it is more than just a film on antisemitism. The second is just brilliant in many ways.

I have a soft spot for Bogey and Bacall, so suggest their first movie To Have and Have Not.

All About Eve is also an amazing movie, just for the sheer talent.

The Third Man is one of the best film noir movies out there. So is The Maltese Falcon.

The Bridge on the River Kwai is another brilliant film with amazing performances by Alec Guiness and William Holden.

Two more great movies with Holden include Stalag 17 and Sunset Boulevard.

Moving to comedies, you can't go wrong with the Nick and Nora movies (William Powell and Myrna Loy). They are usually titled "The Thin Man..." They have fantastic chemistry and the movies are cute little detective movies.

Another fun comedy with Powell and Loy is Libeled Lady. It also stars Spencer Tracey and Jean Harlow.

One of the best comedies is Arsenic and Old Lace with Cary Grant.

You can't go wrong with most of the Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey movies.

More modern movies... I loved Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone both by Guillermo del Toro. Children of Men was absolutely fantastic. I also love The Inside Man. Unforgiven is one of the most brilliant westerns out there.

These movies remain on my recommendation list for a variety of reasons. The newer films because I think they were all wonderfully filmed and deal with really interesting topics. They have more to them than they appear. The films that actually fall within the classic genre are there for various reasons. I am a big Bogey and Bacall fan, thus their first movie. The Thin Man movies are just fun - they make a wonderful comedic pair. I love war movies so the war movies are there as some of the best imo for a variety of reasons - either the way they were filmed, the acting, the directing or all of that and more. Sunset Blvd is just a brilliant film, from the acting to the directing to the writing to just everything. You might also want to try some early Hitchcock - like the black and white stuff. And Metropolis (not the anime but the silent film) is a great example of good silent film and, as racist as it is, The Birth of a Nation is a good example of the genre. It is amazing what early film makers were able to achieve, especially when we compare it to the techniques available nearly 100 years since then.

[gravities.livejournal.com]

Paulina's elimination was wrong wrong wrong. She was the effin' funniest one there. Bastards.

This season is much the strongest, though, I'm enjoying it.