Your favorite movies

[Easy Bakes 253]

Watching Steve Martins best performance on film.

Carl Reiner Directed

Dead men don't wear plaid

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Planning to watch the Jurassic Park trilogy which starts at 1255 EDT on Space Channel. Haven't seen any of them.

  Edited December 23, 2011 by A Nonny Moose  

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 9, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[Easy Bakes 253]

Steve Martin already did 2 Pink Panther remakes.

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[Easy Bakes 253]

He was also very good in All of Me and Plane's Train's and Automobiles

then again those were back when he was at the top of his game.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

I thought I posted this before (must have been on the Minecraft forums) but before Avatar and Inception were my favorite movies, Howle's Moving Castle and Spirited Away were my favorites.

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[Ocram's Razr 964]

Howle's Moving Castle is a Mitazaki/Studio Ghibli film like Spirited Away.

Frumpy young daughter of haberdashers (whose father passed away but still has a mother who cares more about her prettier daughters than the main character) is told by her susters that she doesn't have to worry about the "Evil Warlock Howle" because he only steals the hearts of pretty girls, like them. She walks to the market and is accosted by black blobs. A pretty blond man in fancy clothes saves her. It is love at first sight as they walk above the market. Black blobs turn out to be minions of Wicked Witch of the Waste.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

Witch of Waste curses Sophie (main character) to be old and to not be able to say who cursed her. She treks to the Wastes to get help from Howle. She finds a Turnip Head scarecrow turned upside down with a broken stick, fixes him, and plants him firmly near a field. Turnip Head follows her and she calmy states that nothing surprises her now that she's old.They go on many adventures, including draft dodging. The "moving castle" is a cross between Baba Yagga's hut and a steampunk robot. It is powered by the fire daemon Calcifer. They make a secret deal that he will work with her if she keeps a secret and takes care of him. She meets Howle's apprentice first, a cute little boy named Markl (? Markle?) first. Markl and Howle are impressed that Calcifer allows her to cook breakfast using him as a heat source. She cleans the castle and accidentally throws out the Glamour potions that makes Howle's hair "beautiful golden blonde" and he has a crisis, calling the spirits of darkness, covering with slime, and all. They go on many adventures, including draft dodging.

[Odainsaker 2,137]

Among Studio Ghibli's earlier and surprisingly harsher works is "Grave of the Fireflies."

Towards the end of World War II, Japan's tightly packed wooden cities come in range of the B-29 firebombers. As the cities are systematically razed by incendiaries, young brother and sister Seita and Setsuko lose both their home and their mother, and are forced to survive on their own as poor refugees amidst the gutted ruins of a country crumbling towards total defeat. Among the chilling moments are the children coming across derelict streetcars full of charred bodies in their home city of Kobe, and as well as the hideously wrapped and maggot-filled bandages of their severely burned mother at the field clinic. Older child Seita must later carry the box of their mother's cremated ashes, their only remaining family possession, while trying to conceal the grim reality of their mother's death from his 4-year-old sister. Sadly, we suspect Setsuko already realizes the truth, and it's heartbreaking as Seito constantly tries to cheer her up and provide her with small moments of childhood escape, even as the burden of desperate despair take their toll on him and disease and starvation set upon them both. While sheltering in a nearby cave, the children capture fireflies both for light and for fantasy amusement, but as mature fireflies have short lifespans, the collection and burial of the insect bodies by Seita and Setsuko become stark reminders of the unfolding human tragedy.

No, this was definitely not a children's anime, but remains astounding to see and can move many to tears.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Steve Martin's remakes of the Clouseau movies give me a gigantic attack of dyspepsia. I've seen some clips. Blecch!

I sat though all three Jurassic Park movies yesterday. I won't see them again. I did notice that each ended with a promise of another, including the last one which ended with a flight of pterodactyls, but I take it the franchise has died a good and final death. As monster flicks go, these were not bad. The John Williams sound tracks made more sense than many. There was even some, but not much, real acting in these, but the main character in all of them seemed to be T. Rex and his finny counterpart. I didn't get the point of the saboteur in the first picture. It didn't matter that he turned off the security system, nature will do its thing anyway, and that kind of venture is pretty much out of the question. The premise for the beasts in the second and third film made more sense. The people were incidental.

[Odainsaker 2,137]

I'm going to throw a plug in here for the Spanish historical drama "Agora," starring Rachel Weisz as the Greek philosopher and mathematician Hypatia, who was purged by a Christian mob in Roman Alexandria.

Actually, the personal story of Hypatia is no doubt embellished and outright fictionalized for the sake of the drama, but the wonder of the film is the depiction of ancient Alexandria itself, which at its height was the brightest center of knowledge, philosophy, and Greek science in the Roman world, as well as a cosmopolitan bazaar of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern cultures. This also put Alexandria at the center of civil and religious strife, and the movie opens with the sacking of the great pagan Temple of Serapis and its irreplaceable library. The Romans themselves earn a rare depiction of sympathy, as their tenuously governance amidst the era's rampaging mobs ironically proves the only source of temperance and moderation. The stoic Hypatia, too caught up in the truth of heliocentrism than in the grim realities of civil politics, is perhaps too much the Modern Woman here, but, then again, this is a world whose wonders would be lost for over a millenia.

I was expecting a modern spatterfest version of Sparticus, but was instead surprised to find a more cerebral epic about the collapse of individual rational thought against fundamentalist masses, through which we further appreciate the slow collapse of the Greco-Roman world into the oncoming Dark Ages. The movie may perhaps be plodding, but I found it deeply interesting as I am fascinated by the historical time and place. Be warned, the early Christians are harshly portayed here as a frightening mob of zealous jihadists, and no doubt parallels were deliberately intended with the current wave of Islamic extremism. There is some degree of controversy surrounding the movie regarding this portrayal, but perhaps no more so than accompanied "The Last Temptation of Christ" or Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." Ironically, histories suggest the Alexandrians of a century or two later may have welcomed the Arab conquest of Egypt as relief from the repressive religious excesses of the increasingly dogmatic Byzantine Empire, and it is from the Arab world that preserved and later passed the knowledge of the ancient Greeks back the West.

_________

Oh, I've found myself watching "The King's Speech" repeatedly every time it comes on...it really is that good!

  Edited January 24, 2012 by Odainsaker  

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

^ I read a novel somewhere in the past in which Hypatia was a saint. Considering the Christian mobs of the time it wouldn't surprise me to see her canonized as a martyr.

As for the King's Speech, I think it was a good movie, but not so good that I would want a copy. I have a thing for KG VI, but, in addition to being the big surprise on the throne thanks to the Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon whom he had the luck to marry, he was a damn fool who smoked himself to death just like his daddy. I suspect that Buck House is a non-smoking palace now.

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

I'm definitely not a movie connoisseur, but my boyfriend is, so I've pretty much watched more movies in the past year and a half than I have over my entire lifespan.

My favorite movie ever? I'd say it's probably Star Trek: First Contact or any of the old Star Wars movies (IV, V, or VI). Call me a nerd! Followed closely by Alien, The Matrix, Blade Runner, and 2001: A Space Odyssey (the last two mainly for visuals and a plot that makes you think). I just love me some sci-fi.

My favorite new(ish) movie is Avatar.

My favorite animated movie will always be, I'm pretty sure, Monsters Inc., but I saw Despicable Me a while back, and I'm dying to see it again. Oh, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, if you want to call that animation. Anything done by Tim Burton I will undoubtedly love.

My favorite comedy is probably...Harold and Kumar. Just nutty enough to be hilarious.

I think any remake of Clousseau movies would be a grave mistake.

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[Easy Bakes 253]

I think I tie Wrath of Khan and First Contact.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Today Star Trek the next generation pilot - Mission to Farpoint - was released on BluRay. Besides the feature length pilot, two other episodes are included: The Sins of the Father and one other not specified in the announcement I saw. Examples indicate a lot of work was done to make this clearly HD. There may be a problem with the format, however. The original was shot 3:4 digitally and taped. The original ST series was on film and so is easier to get as HD. Whether any of it can be 16:9 is problematical.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Weird they would throw season 3 and 5 episodes together with the pilot episodes.

they are 2 of the best episodes ill give them that.

Sins of the Father and The Inner Light.

[jptiger 0]

i personally like a lot of movies,

i prefer action or war movies however,

something completely different is my favorite,

Flipped, awesome movie. the casting, story and the setting are great

i also like:

POTC series

LOTR series

Two Brothers.

The Hurt locker

armadillo

we were soldiers

restrepo

  Edited March 13, 2012 by jptiger  

[Ocram's Razr 964]

I might as well give you a breakdown by genre:

Big budget Science Fiction: Avatar (I also like Return of the Jedi but most people find Episodes 1-4 their least favorites, the older Star Wars nerds hate 1-3 and the new fans hate 4)

Blockbuster: Inception (many people have dreamt of being able to share their dreams, this made the concept into a blockbuster)

Asian Anime (there are a few Korean and Chinese shows I like): Miyazaki's, particularly Howle's Moving Castle, Warriors of the Wind is best left forgotten (it had a cover like the first MegaMan US release)

Western Animation: Disney (and Brave Little Toaster, which was acquired by Disney before it could hit Cinemas)

Computer Animation: Wall-E (I grew up with Toy Story 1 but Up is moving)

Fantasy: Harry Potter (I grew up with the novels, I am firmly in the generation aimed at Harry Potter, Sorcerer's Stone was my first chapter book)

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Anyone seen "John Carter" a,k.a. A Princess of Mars by ERB? This could be a continuing franchise.

And how about "The Lorax"?

[Easy Bakes 253]

Anyone seen "John Carter" a,k.a. A Princess of Mars by ERB? This could be a continuing franchise.

And how about "The Lorax"?

Is Princess of Mars that the one they based it from?

probably go see it this weekend. Ah i see why they waited

2012 is the 100th year of John Carters 1st story.

  Edited March 14, 2012 by Easy Bakes  

[Odainsaker 2,137]

With election season ongoing, HBO has been playing it's new made-for-tv docudrama "Game Change," which shows a behind-the-scenes dramatization of staffer accounts of the struggles of Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign and the taking on of running mate Gov. Sarah Palin. It is not the best in technical filmmaking, but as an admittedly biased exercise in political drama and contextualization, it is spookily fascinating. Julianne Moore gives us a Sarah Palin so out of her depth in the media spotlight, we actually feel sympathy for her...up until she abandons any last pretense of policy substance for populist opportunism and bipolar melodrama. Yes, this is at times "The Manchurian Candidate" meets Joan Collins meets "Saturday Night Live," yet it remains hilariously entertaining even if much of the well-documented scenes are connected by controversial scenes that are clearly overly fictionalized for dramatic effect. Partisans in both parties already have the sharpened knives drawn, and be sure that the depiction of Palin is unflattering and even outright frightening. Still, amidst the near-parody, there is a sobering lesson on the dangers of political anti-intellectualism and the "dark side of American populism," which were exposed for all Americans to see in two key recorded moments that will remain in campaign infamy, and which remain with us today:

American Newspeak

I've Created a Monster

If we ever had any doubts about how the 2008 election played out, we need only look those two clips, which are also recreated and well framed in the movie. Indeed, some of the more optimistic pundit murmurings suggest that the movie may reinforce in viewers the self-comforting notion that they did indeed make the safest choice in electing Sen. Barack Obama in 2008, and that such a reminder may leave them receptive to the notion that Obama still remains the safe choice come this November.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

I plan on watching them during Spring Break.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

An interesting sidelight on this thread that I have noticed.

The depth of "favorites" seems to be limited to the age of the poster. Many of our members now were not even a thought in the mind of their grandfathers when the big studios were in their heyday and had stables of fantastically good performers under contract. And yet, there are still members of the motion picture academy who persists and produce great performances these days as well. Look at the legacy from Ethel Barrymore to Helen Hayes to Meryl Streep and you will see some truly stellar performances.

My favorite films remain:

Gone with the Wind

The Great Dictator

Shane

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

South Pacific

[emperordaniel 1,281]

Gone with the Wind

The Great Dictator

Shane

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

South Pacific

The only one of those I've seen so far is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which I really liked.

[astronelson 339]

My favourite movie would have to be The Dish, the story of the role the Parkes Radio Telescope (known fondly as "the Dish") had with the Apollo 11 mission. It takes some liberties with historical accuracy, but is generally pretty good.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Gone with the Wind

The Great Dictator

Shane

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

South Pacific

The only one of those I've seen so far is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which I really liked.

The big item for me in Seven Brides was the choreography and the dancing of Russ Tamblyn (the kid with the red hair). It was a Broadway smash too. I think all the others are available on Netflix or some other service. I saw them in theaters.

[dazza262 133]

For me the greatest movie of all time has got to be The Godfather

I've lost count of the amount of times I've watched it, but I never tire of seeing it.

Pacino's performance as the young Michael Corleone becoming the boss of New York's biggest crime family is amazing.