The Smiley Smile Message Board

For me, it's Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. Such a underrated film, not as good as Life of Brian, and much better than the overrated Holy Grail.

What's your favourite movie at the moment?

Meaning Of Life has it's laughs but overall I feel it has too many weak points for me to enjoy it as a whole sadly. Still enjoy it though ;) But yes, Life Of Brian is the best.

But my favourite movie right now? Blazing Saddles. Love it.

Norbit.

I don't think the Meaning of Life has too many weak points. But that's just my opinion.
What about the Crimson Permanent Assurance?
I also love Blazing Saddles! Another all-time classic

Gotta be a tie between Purple Rain and The Evil Dead II.

Lost in Translation, just a beautiful film and Bill Murray being awesome.

I can't get into the Monty Python stuff, it's not lowbrow enough for me.

Favorite two movies of all time would be Smokey & The Bandit, and "Titanic".  Smokey & the Bandit because it's just so funny... I mean Jackie Gleason is a genius, the guy just perfected that character.  I never get tired of it, I've probably seen that movie 200 times.

"Titanic" was great, I grew up interested in the whole story of the ship and remember when they found it.  I think he got the story really right and have to admit the romance element of it really gets to me.  Lots of little touches that were done right all through the movie... I can't remember enjoying a movie more than that.

hunt for red October, titanic and The Shawshank Redemption..

RB

I guess we turned this into 'greatest of all time' but I'm not sure what he meant by favorite at the moment. 

Shawshank Redemption does stand up there.  I'm a big Stephen King fan, that's probably one of his best.  It'd be hard to make an argument for better movie that he wrote.

The 1997 Titanic was brilliant, there's no doubting that. Having watched that at a young age, it got me into Ocean Liners. Now I have a soft spot for ships.
But the 1997 Titanic wasn't even the best Titanic movie! LOL!
The best one would be 1958's "A Night To Remember". I suggest you check that out. It may be in black and white, and it may not have as good special effects, but it's a fucking good film!
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I love Shawshank Redemption! One of my all-time favourite movies. But I prefer The Green Mile just a little bit more. There's something about the Green Mile which makes it a bit better than Shawshank.

And yes, this topic isn't supposed to be your favourite movie of all-time, or the greatest film of all time.
I meant you favourite movie at the moment. The movie you like the most at the moment

I'm not really a good judge on King's classic stuff (he's a little too political for me now)... because I like all of it.  Christine is great, I love classic cars and grew up with that movie.  "The Shining" is phenomenal.  The Green Mile is great, Shawshank is great, but I like all the stuff like Night Shift too.  So I'm sure I like them more than most average people. 

To be honest, I enjoy about any movie.  Even movies people say are bad I generally like.  There's some movies I just won't watch because I'm not interested (like Twlight and all that crap) but just about any movie that seems mildly interesting I usually enjoy.

I agree. And of course, Twilight is one of the worst films of all time  ;D

Sorry, but all those Kings films except "The Shining" I find extremely boring. "The Green Mile" could help to cure insomnia, f.ex., just switch it on & it works from the start. Your eyes are closing & you start yawning. I don't care if the film contains important message etc., the cast is not my favorite. Can't say anything good about "Christine", either, if only for the tame storyline.
Off the memory, my favorite King movies are "The Langoliers", "Desperation" (Ron Perlman is one cool guy!), "Dolores Claiborne" (just because Kathy Bates is so awesome), "It" (I like horrors about clowns), TV mini-series "Rose Red", "Riding the Bullet" (the soundtrack is great! I liked the use of The Zombies' Time of Season), "Cujo" (not a big dogs fan but this is such an impressive movie. Turn the lights off & it's even more fantastic), "Cat's Eye" (I love cats, so watching my favorite animal winning some vicious gnome at the end did enough for me) & "Needful Things" (I reckon its plot to be one of the most original in the horror genre. Not the usual vampire/ghost/werewolf thing. And Max son Sydow totally ruled!).

my favourites at the moment are Carrie (original) and A Fish Called Wanda.

How are those Stephen King movies boring RangeRoverA1? Shawshank Redemption is amazing, it's one film I can watch over and over again without getting sick of it, regardless of length!

The Blues Brothers   :afro

Wow, totally forgot about "Carrie"! Sissy Spacek is an amazing actress, dug her in the Loretta Lynn biopic too, where she showed not only her acting skills, but also singing! I read in her Imdb that she actually auditioned for some records company sending them her demo & she had the same voice as Loretta! Interesting detail. Anyway, back to "Carrie" you rightly emphasized the original, as the other 2-3 were total trainwrecks. I generally don't favor the whole movie-remaking trend. Are there no ideas around? Plenty, just get the imagination & make it real.

Well, let's agree to disagree on "Shawshank...", can't stand it. Btw, have you seen any of the other Steve King films? Maybe the ones I've mentioned or "Misery", "Secret Window" (in words of Johnny Depp, he based his character on Brian Wilson - you know, that myth about him leading reclusive life for 3 years), "1408", "The Mangler" (which I also kinda enjoyed), "Salem's Lot", "Hearts in Atlantis"?
AS for "Titanic", it's highly overrated, but that's not to blame the actors, I quite liked the cast, in fact. It's just the extreme popularity & talks about it at the time that its effect faded after the 2nd watching or so.

Yeah, Carrie's an amazing film! The remake isn't too bad, but it's nothing compared to the original. Piper Laurie is a brilliant actress too, and actually creeped me out when I first saw it. I've seen bits of Misery, not the whole film, but not the other's you mentioned. I'll check them out.

As for Titanic, I'm a bit over it, but you must give A Night To Remember a try! It is the best Titanic film ever made, and the main character's the second officer, not some fictional character made for a love story. Titanic doesn't split in two in that film, but because it was made in 1958 and the wreck was discovered in 1985 which revealed that it split in two, they didn't know back then. So that can be excused. SOS Titanic from 1979 is the first one in colour, but it's crap. Titanic from 1996 starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, George C. Scott, Tim Curry, etc. isn't too bad, but very historically inaccurate. The 1953 Titanic is all-right at best, it has a young Robert Wagner, but I wouldn't reccomend it. The 1943 Titanic made in Nazi Germany I haven't got a chance to see yet, or any other Titanic film before that. The 2012 TV Miniseries isn't too bad, but it could have been better.

If you're sick of the 1997 Titanic, fair enough. But please check out A Night To Remember, I promise you won't regret it!

Not familiar with any of those "Titanic" versions, but now you've mentioned it, I saw the 1996 one and as I remember, I liked the main heroine there more than Kate Winslet's. Forgot her name, it's not Zeta-Jones. Okay, I'll take your word & check "A Night to Remember". Semi-related question: Have you heard of "Britannic", a 2000 movie & if so, do you know if it tells the story of Titanic just titled differently? I ask it coz you seem like an expert in all this sinking ship cinema.

No, it's definitely Zeta-Jones:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_(1996_TV_miniseries)

In the 1900's, the White Star Line commissioned a trio of ships to compete with the Cunard Line's new super-liners the Lusitania and Mauritania. They were to be the Olympic-class Ocean Liners, and at the time they were the largest ships ever made and they were the most luxurious (though the Cunard liners were still faster).
The first ship, Olympic, was the most successful. She served a long and successful career and was scrapped in 1935.
The second is the world-famous Titanic. Of course I don't have to tell you about what happened to the Titanic.
The third ship was called the Britannic. She never saw service as a passenger liner, as she was still being built when WWI started. She became a Hospital Ship. In 1916, she hit a mine and she actually sank much quicker than the Titanic, though only 30 people died, and that was due to being chopped up by the propellers like in the film. It helped that there were no patients on board at the time. She was the largest ship sunk in WWI.

The 2000 film on Britannic is very good, I quite enjoyed that. But it's worth noting that all the characters, other than the Captain, are fictional, and there was no German spy onboard or no sabotage. Purely a work of good fiction for entertainment.

Rope

Haven't had the chance to check it out, though I am familiar with quite a few Hitchcock films.
My favourite Hitchcock films would have to be Rear Window, North By Northwest and Vertigo. Though I also love The Wrong Man, Psycho, and the underrated Frenzy

Re the 1996 "Titanic": I'm aware of Zeta-Jones playing there, I referred to another actress. As I haven't seen this film for ages, I went to the Imdb & found out she played some Irish girl, her name is Sonsee Ahray. Can't tell anything about the plot, though, the only excerpt I remember is when the Tim Curry character made several attempts at throwing the girl off the boat. Anyway, thanks for your thorough info on the subject.

Re: "Rope" (& other Hitchcock films), you won't lose much from not seeing it. Short description: some guys full of themselves suddenly saw fit in treating others godlike, thus killing their comrade & further arranging some party in no less but around the place where they hid him. So stupid, you can easily predict the body was found etc.
I agree on "Rear Window" & "North by Northwest", they're terrific stories, esp. the latter - very adventurous, plus I liked the background music. Did you know that the script of "...Northwest" was handed 1st to James Stewart & that he really wanted to get the leading role? Hitchcock was dissatisfied by James' previous work ("Vertigo", if I recall), so he chose Cary Grant. In hindsight, that was the right decision; I think he handled the role perfectly. And overall, I just dislike Stewart's acting. I liked "Rear Window" for the unusual story & Stella, the old service lady. My favorite bit is when she funnily said, "He dug her in the garden scaterring her body around" or sth. to the effect. Another fave when Grace Kelly's character had the guts to enter the killer's house through the window, while Stella sought the corpse in the garden.

Other Hitchcock movies I enjoyed are "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (the older 1934 version, not with Doris Day) & "The Birds" (well, half of it, to be accurate). I've yet to see a dozen of his films, so my list is small. Now, getting back to the horror territory, what would you recommend me in checking out of this genre? The 40s-50-s-60s, from all the decades, what horror films you found the most scary/mystic? Thanks.

The problem with most Stephen King films are that they are made by his good friend Mick Garris (often for tv). Garris is a screamingly mediocre director who doesn't dare to make cinematic changes to the source material.

Great Stephen King films
'Salem's Lot - Tobe Hooper's one great film outside of TCM. Very creepy for a tv movie.
The Shining - A flawed masterpiece, it's biggest flaw being that it's hard to appreciate Jack Torrance going mad when Nicholson is portraying him as a grinning loon from the start.
Shawshank Redemption
Misery
Cat's Eyes - esp the Quitters Inc. story.
Creepshow
IT - well, until the awful, none moving spider pops up.
Dolores Clairborne - the film is much better then the actual book
Apt Pupil - this one is very overlooked.

Also it may be the furthest thing from great but I heartily recommended Maximum Overdrive which King himself directed. It gets trashed but the first 30 minutes or so are very entertaining.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not very familiar with Horror movies, especially the older kind with very few exceptions. You might want to ask someone else about that

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Watch it, seriously. It's a great film.

I've been obsessing over American Hustle since I saw it last week.  Wouldn't be surprised at all if that takes the Best Picture Oscar.

At the moment?  If you are talking about recent films, I have seen Wolf of Wall St., Walter Mitty, Her, and August/Osage.

In order of favorite to least favorite;  Her, Mitty, August, Wolf.  I found Her hypnotic and fascinating, Mitty as very entertaining and beautifully filmed, August a bit Tenessee Williams, and Wolf disgusting and way too long.  Don't bother with Wolf.  Just watch Goodfellas  along with Wall Street again.  Two superior movies and it will only take an additional hour over the excruciating 3 hours of the Wolf.  I like DeCaprio and Scorcese but not this time and not this movie.

Haven't seen Her. Doesn't look very good, some guy talking to his computer like it's his girlfriend, ugh. Wolf was GREAT! Lots of tits and ass. Mitty started so badly, I thought I might have to walk out, but it did turn out to be a really good movie. Haven't seen August, either; I hear good acting buit a real downer, from the folks I've taked to. Nebraska was pretty slow( almost as slow as Inside Llewyn Davis) but the son seemd to be a good actor. Bruce Dern mostly mumbled and shuffled, which doesn't seem to be too much great acting to me. Lone Survivor was really good. American Hustle I enjoyed a lot! But ANYTHING with Jennifer Lawrence is worth seeing, and thro in Amy Adams and Christian Bale? WHoaa....  Best done movie seen recently, The Book Thief. 

Have you seen the newer take of "Salem's Lot"? For some odd reason, I didn't reach my hands on buying the old one (much as I'm a fan of Tobe), but I did enjoy the modern version, though it wasn't necessarily scary, just interesting plot & acting. But now you mentioned, this time I won't miss on watching that other "Salem's Lot".

I like "Maximum Overdrive" too! Glad I'm not alone on it. The bit when the bridge unfolds while there's still motion is way cool! People sliding up & down & watermelon crashing into the back window of the packed car is hilarious. Also some odd-looking couple after just getting married or on the way to the church being fooled by a mad car who plays with them cat-and-mice either going calm or all of a sudden come out spying up the poor.

Just finished watching "Eraserhead", famous cult movie. I'm quite puzzled about the plot, what's the moral behind of it, and all the characters seemed so dumb. That said, I liked the movie, the plane noises were so cool! The whole time I've been tricked into a thought that I'm flying, complete with takeoff & landing. The music Henry played in his flat was weirdly beautiful (or beautifully weird). For some reason, I felt sorry for a fish-born baby, he was cute in a way & didn't deserve to die. The same cannot be said about worms: I hate them & I don't know why the girl from radiator cutely smiled while stepping on them - oh wait, that was her show! Even grosser moment appeared when Henry got worms out of Mary. Good thing the movie had funny moments too for the balance, f.ex., when Henry walks on the way home & his right foot gets stuck in the mud, it turns out later to be the left one, because the weirdo undresses his left sock to dry it on the radiator. Then we have the finale where his head falls to the ground, a little boy finds it, hands it over to his boss & by strange circumstances it's all that needed for making erasers! The director must've been a crazy genius if he came up with that bit (or entire movie). But of course, the dinner scene was boring (could care less about chicken moving boots, static granny & psychotic mother) & I didn't respect Mary for leaving the child in a sick condition. 7/10.

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How long until Don Draper grows a Mike Brady afro?

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Norbit is my favorite movie



Aaaaack. Well I guess we're both just really clever.

Just saw The Grand Budapest Hotel recently. Was very good.
It's a visually beautiful film.

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What the Heck was that song at the end of Mad Men this week?  Great song!

That WAs a good-un.
I like The Family Stone alot lately. Claire Danes and Rachel McAdams

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That's not the internet.  That's AMC.  They always cut off the song for the totally inane "On the next Mad Men" segments.

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Empire Of The Sun. Total Tearjerker

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(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dd/Almost_famous_poster1.jpg)

I can't see the 1st film poster. I tried to copy/paste the image link in another tab to see what it is, but still nothing. So, Rei?

Watched this for the first time a few weeks ago :o truly a masterpiece.


John Williams' score works perfectly with this movie. One of the best scenes in movie history when the P-51s fly over the camp.

'Hot Fuzz', 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Scott Pilgrim vs The World' all by Edgar Wright. Love his style.

I'm a big fan of Edgar Wright

Great to find out. Which one do you feel is his best movie?

It'd come down to Hot Fuzz vs Scott Pilgrim.

I think the directing on Scott Pilgrim is a much bigger part of what makes it a great movie compared to Hot Fuzz, which is great cuz Simon Pegg ^^

So I'll say Scott Pilgrim

Agreed, Scott Pilgrim is just insane directing-wise. All over the place in a good way.

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Oh. Well it's Office Space.

"Office Space"? Interesting title. Have you seen anything new in the cinema/bought DVD with newish films? Any horror you can recommend?

Did you like it? I've never really gotten that one...though I think Mike Judge's new TV-show, Silicon Valley, is just brilliant.

Halfway through Oculus.... So far so good.

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Lately, not really. In terms of Horror, it's a genre that doesn't interest me. Though my favourite Horror film would have to be Carrie.


I loved it. Really funny, especially the scenes featuring Milton. Idiocracy's another great film that's lately gained a cult following. Extract I didn't like as much, though it's quite good in it's own right. So far overall, really like Mike Judge's work (TV and Film). Haven't seen Silicon Valley yet, but I wouldn't mind checking it out.

My favorite movie would either be The Last Waltz (ofc) or Stop Making Sense

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So good.

Watched The Breakfast Club last night and thought it was stunning. I'd been a long-time fan of Ferris Bueller's Day Off but for some reason I kept postponing watching more John Hughes movies. But I'm glad I did, cause this was on a whole other level.

Well, you're missing out on getting lots of fun & adrenaline, just in 1 & half hours. Okay, as you visited Japan, did you like anime, any favorites. To me, I find all of it the same & helplessly boring. ...Except for Pokemon, but I suspect it's more to do with nostalgia for my 10 y.o. self. Even then I was into Americana.

With a few exceptions, Horror doesn't interest me. Instead of scaring me or entertaining me, it generally bores me.

Not much for Anime, though I really like Death Note, and I don't mind the original series of Naruto. For nostalgic reasons mainly, I have a strong soft spot for Doraemon and Shinchan (Though I doubt if you've heard of either one). As for Pokemon, I still love the old games, up to Diamond and Pearl. But never cared for the Anime itself.

You're right, I never heard of 'em. But I'm sure my 13-year-old cousin knows them, he's kind of obsessed with anime games & cartoons. And he too likes Naruto (he actually forced me to see some of it).

What kind of games they are? I mean the rules & aim.

Doubtful, as they are only really available in Japan.

This'll give you a good idea on the main game series:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Franchise/Pokemon

Rei, have you seen any western films? I have an impression you might. I wanna see some good classic western, but where to start... Any tips?

I've only really seen Blazing Saddles (a classic), Back To The Future III (another classic), Wild Wild West (Didn't see the whole movie, but really liked what I saw) and Rango (Didn't care for it).
Western isn't a genre I'm really familiar with.

Clint Eastwood.

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Clint Eastwood isn't really a classic Western star, as he started in the '60s during the beginnings of the Western's revisionist phase.  Some recommendations for classical Westerns:

Stagecoach: Often called the quintessential western
My Darling Clementine: The best of the "gunfight at the O.K. Corral" cycle
Red River: A terrific epic Western about a cattle drive.  John Wayne's best performance (IMO), and great chemistry between him and Monty Clift.
Winchester '73: The first great western of Anthony Mann, probably my personal favorite Western director.  His films tend to treat "the West" in a much more abstract and elemental sense than, say John Ford, in that there's less of a sense of a specific point in history than that of "man against the elements," or of using the environment as a way of expressing internal, psychological struggles.  Also a great Jimmy Stewart performance.
The Naked Spur: Another great Anthony Mann western with Jimmy Stewart.
The Searchers: Probably the turning point from classical Westerns to revisionist ones.  Another great John Wayne performance.
Man of the West: In my opinion, the best of the Anthony Mann westerns and probably my favorite film in the genre.  Really the pinnacle of using the Western landscape to project an internal, psychological struggle onto, and a great Gary Cooper performance.
Rio Bravo: Made as a kind of reaction against High Noon (which many people mistake for a good movie), this film deals primarily with the relationship between the self-respecting, individualistic Western hero archetypes and the community that they form.  Which admittedly a lot of Westerns do, but this one does it better than most of them.
Ride Lonesome: My favorite Budd Boetticher film, a B-movie director who was kind of like the low-rent Anthony Mann.  Seriously, though, this movie has some of the best dialogue I've ever heard.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Like The Searchers, a film lying somewhere between being a classical and revisionist Western dealing with the way that history gets transformed into legend.  Not a personal favorite so much as an important entry in the genre.

When you've seen all of those, then start on the Sergio Leone/Sam Peckinpah revisionist Westerns of the '60s and '70s (which are also great).

Once Upon A Time In The West is a fantastic western.

Also, the remake and original of True Grit are fantastic movies.

Once Upon a Time is not only a fantastic western, it's one of the greatest movies ever made. It has brought me to tears. The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly is another great Leone film. Not as good as West, but great nevertheless.

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These edits are always so vexing!

Thank you each for all of your suggestions! Esp. smilethebeachboysloveyou, western expert of Smiley board. :3d I'll check these where it's possible to find.

At the moment - three versions of this. Don't like the Ferrara version, but love the other two:

http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/don-siegel-invasion-of-body-snatchers.html

St Vincent

Anytime.

Today I googled 2 Steves - King & Spielberg - to see if they ever worked together. and know what? They've been shooting mini-series "Under the Dome" since 2013. Just read the synopsis on Wiki - it looks like a nice story, very interesting plot. I'm gonna order it at the local Internet cafe. :3d

I saw the Innocents (1961). do not think it's horror as the genre claims, but I like it. My favorite character is the old lady Ms. Grose who serves the house. nice song "O Willow Walo". Spectacular montage work; yes, I notice such thing.

Follow-up for watching: "Spiral Staircase" (1945). Was reading about music band "Spiral Starecase", that's how I found it. Comments later.

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I think i'm going to watch south park

Hanging out with my guy friends always inspires me to watch it.
maybe inspires isn't the right word.

So long as you don't play "red rocket" with your dog, have fun!

Oh god that's one of the episode's I've actually seen. Blegh.

I just watched a really disturbing episode of South Park. Bad idea >.<

Okay.... details?

"Scott Tenorman Must Die." Cartman's a bit messed up.

I've also seen "Woodland Critter Christmas." Now that's weird.

Yeah, those are some pretty brutal episodes. Though none are as potentially traumatising (for the sensitive viewers) as "Proper Condom Use"

Watched Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown for the first time in over 25 years. 

There's actually kind of a sex joke in it.  The Peanuts gang goes to camp, and Snoopy goes into the girls' tent to kiss them all goodnight.  When he goes to kiss Peppermint Patty, he bounces on her water bed causing ripples to go up and down, and Patty starts screaming.  Marcie says, "You're making too much noise sir, wouldn't a good night kiss have been enough?"  Or something to that effect. 

"My Left Foot". Story of cerebral palsy human Christy Brown. Based on his book. Starring my favorite old lady Brenda Fricker - the dove-feeding bum from "Home Alone-2". She plays the mother of Browns brood. Oscar-awarded role. Christy is Daniel Day-Lewis, dunno this fella. Check it out, British film fans.

NB didn't know Fiona Shaw had slim waist. She has knockout figure! For your info, Fiona played the evil aunt of Harry Potter. In "My Left Foot" her hair is short & reddish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANUoAdXfA60

F For Fake with Orson Welles.  I think I'll need to watch this one again to fully understand it.

10 Cloverfield Lane, very tense movie. Best movie Iv seen in a long time though the ending felt out of place.

Nothing new, but watched Kiss Me Deadly last night. Straaaaaaange film.

I just got into Freaks and Geeks.
This show is so relatable, for so many reasons.
Mostly, I'm in love with Jason Segel... And I relate to the girl a lot. Not that I'm hanging with the "wrong crowd" or anything, but I've definitely been that person who's held up to that goody-two-shoes standard and it can be really annoying.
It's also educating me on classic rock. I have an impetus to listen to more of the Who and Zeppelin now.

boo classic rock


I'm watching Rushmore again. Whatta good movie.

One of my coworkers once said that 1971 is the year rock died. Is that what you're saying?

Also, I just realized that movie reminds me of the music video for "Mind Mischief."

Classic rock is lame and has consumed music culture.
Fight the power, m.

If you mean in the way Forever 21 and every other sweatshop-driven clothing store, etc. slaps on The Who and Rolling Stones on all of their t-shirts, then I totally agree. I hate it. I guess I've been more into '60s soft rock anyway.

I'm re-watching House and re-falling in love with it.
As House would put it..
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(fight the power)

Freaks And Geeks is brilliant. Shame it only lasted one season. The funniest character by far is Lindsay and Sam's dad, as well as Bill Haverchuck

I really the characters. The geeks are funny. Gotta love the ridiculous jokes from Neal.

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^I just watched that one a few days ago. Jewish humor.... :P

Horace and Pete with Louie C.K. and Alan Alda. Far and away the funniest thing I've seen in a while  :lol hearing Alda be so foul mouthed is a huge contrast to Hawkeye!

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Love Kentucky Fried Movie and Revenge of the Nerds.

I ended up seeing Civil War the other day at a newly remodeled theatre in town. Really addictive chocolate popcorn served there.

Honestly I really enjoyed the movie. Especially the last half. Paul Rudd and that Tom Holland kid make up a lot of the awkward humor that I love so much.

Have you ever seen Nathan for You?

I have not. Why?

If awkward humor is your thing, it is the greatest TV show ever created. I've known a few people who find it nearly unwatchable, but it's probably one of my favorite things ever. I love it so much. The premise is this guy, Nathan Fielder, goes to different businesses (and sometimes starts his own), and pitches ideas to them that he thinks will make them more successful. Here's one where he convinces a realtor to sell her homes by advertising them as "ghost free": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7BlydBMAVU&ab_channel=ComedyCentral

It's all 100% real, by the way.

So if you're a fan of shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm and the U.K. Office, then you'd enjoy this?

I watch Rushmore a lot. And now I'm doing it again.

I watched Dont Look Back a handful of days ago. Fascinating movie--really, you named two of your children "Stephen"?

I'm a big fan of Criterion films.

I keep catching bits and pieces of Very Bad Things on TV.

That's a great dark comedy. 

Nothing new this week. Welcome to the Dollhouse and All About Eve.

Different....  >:D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uiJsAp82jg

I'm now watching Vernon, Florida, one of my all-time favorite films/documentaries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItSN5ysERog

This video made my life better.

Facially, Mac reminds me very strongly of a female relative of my wife's. Same gap in the teeth, same shape of head. No disrespect meant in either direction! 

Grand Torino.  :smokin

St. Vincent

American graffiti what a classic

Just watched Forever Hardcore: The Documentary on EC fuckin' W. 
http://youtu.be/BSGyi1RXlBM

"Sabotage". As we know, Hitch made British & American films, "Sabotage" is favorite from his British. It features the best villain played by Oscar Homolka.

"Elevator" (2011) & "Permanent Vacation" (1980), Jim Jarmusch debut shot in cheap amateur student camera.
The 1st is people of different nationalities & financial status stuck in the elevator of the tall building. Thanks to granddaughter of the boss; she didn't like some Jew comic with claustrophobia that couldn't wait when the lift stops. They all prepared for the corporate bash.
"Vacation" is old fave. Main hero narrates with drone kind of lispy depressed voice which adds coolness. Young skinny chap wanders about the empty streets of New York City - it's in ruins - sees strange people, visits his mother in the yellow house, the airplanes fly in the sky, some guy is outside the destroyed building, they chew the fat for a bit, attends empty theatre to watch movie, there he sees old black chap, the only thing he can talk about is Doppelganger effect. When the youngster comes back to the small flat he shares with the owner, some woman about 30, there is scene of him dancing to Earl Bostic's vinyl "Up There in Orbit". There is not much going around, about 5-7 characters, little dialogue. The score is by Jarmusch & John Lurie, his friend, played in Jim's "Stranger Than Paradise", "Down By Law" with young Tom Waits & Roberto Benigni as 3 jailmates. Smb. will dub it "Boring", it isn't typical "happy end" stuff. Well, it doesn't end unhappy either, rather what the title says - the guy never settles in the same place, when he gets bored & tired of it, he travels smwr else. It seems slow but actually lasts 1h 15m. I advise to fans of bizarre indie avant-garde movies with macabre music.

"Police Academy-5: Assignment: Miami Beach" (1988). Well not the best movie in franchise, it misses funny/interesting characters that were in previous, f.ex. Sweetchuck (Tim Kazurinsky) & Zed (Bobcat Goldthwaite, the chap with the coolest voice ever! Even if it's not real) or the Kirkland fam. But it's surely better than the last, trainwreck PA "Mission in Moscow" (the saving grace there was Ron Perlman & Christopher Lee).

The first power... alot of the same locations as the DOC's video ' its funky enough'

Well I'm not into tradition of watching movies that suit the holiday. Like watching Halloween during Halloween. As if it's duty. ::) Anyway, "Christmas vacation" - 1st seen it at 10 maybe. Then at summer. I like it but it isn't funny start to finish. It drags a bit, some of it is pointless, f.ex. the super-duper fashionista neighbors get on my nerves whenever I see their mugs in the screen. They're good mute. Then there is super-boring scene at the shop where Clark Griswold chews the fat with some shop girl. You'd think they could cast smb. less ugly. His wife is such attractive woman, both looks & wits. Actually, I don't like when they waste the time for shopping scenes - they just shoot people buying stuff, it's mundane. Really liked when they showed 2 grandmothers decorating house cake. Wonder if it's U.S. tradition to make cake in shape of house at Christmas. Jolly good. :3d My favorite characters - Griswold fam sans the kids (Russ & Audrey). Then Eddie, despite his goofiness, I think he was funny though I got squeamish seeing him deal with liquid manure spilling to the snow from tube. Catherine was too chirpy & smiley which is good for a bit. The kids were alright. If there's ever movie where kids don't steal the show, it's this. Btw, the intro is good from the point where they get the Christmas tree. The song was annoying & the car "competition" I didn't get what it was about. Those sleigh bells or sth. playing while they open the doors with calendar - Dec. 14 etc. Nice idea. Bottom line: it's good but not great.

Brainscan

"The Caller", 2011 horror/mystic about some lonely psychotic lady from the past calling in recent times to some young girl who just moved to that flat. The device is very archaic - you know, with round dial & ringing akin to the classic door ring. At 1st the girl tells "wrong number", then is annoyed, then they chat, then she's tired of her calls & unplugs it. After some time, she switches it back & immediately smb. calls. She lives with dog & sometimes talks with the gardener in her neighborhood/yard. She askes who lived before in her flat, he disremembers, then actually says there lived couple, the woman's name was Rose (as that lady's name). In short, cool flick to sit watch at dark alone (easily frightened? bring the pillows to room to hide away).

(http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i262/664465/image_zpsdd7oluh3.gif)
Old vhs tapes of ECW i have

My dwarf friend Daiana feeds me with free film downloads sometimes; she's got fast Internet. I asked her what comedies to see. She transferred to flash card "Due Date" (2010), said it's very funny. Not really. It's road type movie with Robert Downey-Jr & new face Zach Galifianakis. They met by chance on the way to airport, then flew, turned out, the same plane & ended up being road companions. Robert played the architect who flew home to be present at wife's childbirth. They talked by the phone like every 10 minutes. Zach played the budding actor going to Hollywood (he says it's city name, not L.A.) & cast in the TV show "2 & half people". He carried miniature dog Sunny. By misunderstanding, the 2 didn't fly being suspected as drug dealers. Then Zach rented the car to ride thru the states to Los Angeles. There's fighting between them, adventures in the movie. In the end, Robert's character is just in time when the wife (Michelle Monaghan) is in the hospital. But he fainted due to Zach accidentally shooting his knee so Zach took his place to help her.
Downey-Jr is jolly good at playing funny. In fact, IF the movie is funny - didn't get many jokes - it's def due to Robert's deadpan face & sarcastic jabs he gives Zach.

(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3000915a72bfb5fb09ccf5fb97fed11714c036ed/0_0_4285_2572/master/4285.jpg?w=1225&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=8309105edbf53b5731d2214a1c213895)

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/11/zadie-smiths-nw-why-isnt-it-black-and-british-enough-for-the-bbc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgfMz12kSb0

Have been watching a lot of documentaries lately on the TCM network.
There were some World War II documentaries on. Sat down and watched the four plus hours of The Sorrow and the Pity. Very thought provoking; what would I have done in that situation?

Tonight there will be some fun documentaries - the classic surfer movie The Endless Summer. Then later on, Woodstock, followed by Elvis: That's the Way it is.

Then, REAL early on Sunday, a non documentary but something I hadn't seen before - the Monkees' movie, Head.

Duel 1971

The past few evenings have consisted of watching an endless amount of Bob's Burgers.

I want to get drunk with Bob.

Bob?? Have I missed something?

john, the movie titled "Bob's burgers", she may mean the main character Bob. That's who she wants to get tipsy.

Rewatching "Sherlock Holmes" (2009), gotta say that Jude Law guy is quite good as John Watson. Brilliant score. I pay attention to music in pictures.

Mission to Moscow is darn near unwatchable.  And I'm a defender of most Police Academy sequels, even the post Guttenburg ones. 

Cool that you like "Police Academy". It seems like everybody forgot it. Did you know that Steve Guttenberg (with "e") refused to play in "Miami Beach"? They then cast Matt McCoy to play the debonair; in fact Matt's lines in the script were meant to Guttenberg. In interview Steve said he regrets it now but at the time he became well-known & decided to move on with career. He talked about creating "Police Academy 8" but nobody from the old cast agreed to play plus with Bubba Smith (Hightower) passed away who he was friends with it may not be possible (too bad). I wasn't big fan of character "Mahoney" (& Guttenberg) but fun trivia, it could be Bruce Willis or Michael Keaton. Bruce turned it down, thankfully. I'd rather not see his face in any of "Police Academy". Seeing success of 1st movie, think it was Bruce - maybe Keaton too - who said they regretted declining the role. Did you watch the 90s TV series? Is it good as features? I read that except Michael Winslow (Jones) the cast is totally new there.

Who watched Jim Jarmusch film "Coffee & Cigarettes"? You didn't? Do it asap. :police: It's stylistically beautiful & consists of 11 short films (to quote wiki, "series of vignettes"). It stars many household names - actors & musicians. Cool soundtrack too! It's good start to finish but best to "worst" would be:

1. "Somewhere in California" - good dialog. w/ Tom Waits & Iggy Pop. Iggy seems kinda scared of Tom.
2. "Those Things'll Kill Ya" - again, good dialog. 2 old buddies & teenage boy.
3. "Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil" - The White Stripes. Jack brought up Tesla coil to cafe & they discuss what is wrong with it. Meg casually gave the right answer. Speaking of Meg, she was pretty to look at, cute little face. :)
4. "Twins" - Steve Buscemi as waiter & 2 black customers (brother-sister).
5. "Strange to Meet You" - the very 1st. Considered bad/boring but I really like it. Roberto Benigni is as usual hilarious. His companion is Steven Wright (btw, these people use their real names & don't change occupation, i.e. Tom Waits is Tom Waits & musician. The Steve Buscemi example may be the single exception)
6. "Delirium" - RZA, GZA & Bill Murray. The rappers recognize him & say sth. like "Are you Groundhog day, ghostbustin' Bill Murray?". Then keep saying "Bill Murray" instead just "Bill". They think he is undercover working at that cafe.
7. "Cousins" - Cate Blanchett showing again what good thespian she is. playing 2 cousins with diff. status that meet finally in the hotel. Cate is famous actress & Shelly is her dark-haired free spirit sister. They both envy each other - Cate because, despite being rich, good family etc., doesn't have free time to live without being recognized in streets. Shelly would like to swap places with her & thinks Cate telling she envies her is just being kind but not sincere. You can see she is bitter about Cate getting spotlight etc.
8. "Renee" - well 1stly, the girl is beautiful. She doesn't say much to waiter but she acts with her facial expressions that she hated him spilling milk to the cup of coffee because 1) she didn't ask & 2) it was the right color & taste before he did it.
9. "Champagne" - the last, considered the best, philosophically or sth. else. 2 old chaps Taylor Mead & Bill Rice reminiscing past.
10. "Cousins?" - Alfred Molina & Steve Coogan. I don't know if they're indeed kin, maybe it's script. Anyway, this has good morale of the story.
11. "No Problem" - boring of the bunch. Alex Descas & Isaach De Bankole meet to share news, Alex says it's fine. Isaach seeing his bored face doesn't believe & every once awhile worried "What's the problem?" Alex: "No problem". In the end, Alex got furious & said to quit that rubbish & reiterates there's no problem. To which Isaach grudgingly accepts that his friend is indeed fine. "Well if you're fine,  I'm glad" & leaves the cafe. good background music by Skatalites.

Carlitos way

I've seen it. I admit I don't remember it well--I watched it a long time ago--but I did enjoy the Waits/Pop scene. Then again, I love Tom Waits.

Well, not today, but tomorrow will take advantage of the bad weather to catch a bunch of good movies on the TCM TV network.
On tap: The Man Who Knew Too Much, Suspicion, Strangers on a Train, Dial M for Murder, The Big Clock
Range Rover A1 wish you could be here - to watch the movies and entertain the cats.  :)

2the captain: you'd seen it in its premiere in 2003. Would be interesting to revisit & rank the short 11 films, just for fun? If you like Tom Waits, check the other JJ movie "Down by Law".
2NOLA BB Fan: thanks, if your cats like foreign guests. ;)

Yes, they are "sophisticats."
Just bring some string and you'll be their BFF
 :-D

I actually never saw the 90s TV series.  As big a fan as I was back then, I never knew it existed.  I used to watch the cartoon. 

Guttenburg probably knew the franchise was a sinking ship, so he bailed before #5.  I really think the quality started to plummet after #2.  Nice that they brought GW Bailey back for #4 (which was the vehicle for Brian Wilson's first true single as a solo artist), but it wasn't the same.

The cartoon was cheap cash-in idea.

From what Guttenberg stated in interviews, he refused to play due to getting busy & taking different en route. I think he simply wanted varied roles & not to be typecast. & Like I said, he regrets it now.

I like the 3rd the best. But yes, I didn't like Art Metrano in 2nd & 3rd films as replacement for Capt. Harris (Bailey). Just not funny & not good team with Proctor (Lance Kinsey). I liked that song way before discovering BBs/BW (2005).

Do you think "Police Academy 8" is worth the time & effort? Guttenberg, actually, the one who brought this plan to the table.

Guttenberg actually did a low budget franchise for Asylum films called Lavatanula, which included Michael Winslow, the actress who played Hooks (her name escapes me), and Leslie Easterbrook.  There were a few sly PA references.  

I don't think PA8 would be a good idea at this point.  George Gaines and Bubba Smith have each passed away.  I doubt they could recapture the feel of those first few movies, which are now 30+ years old.  

On the cartoon, in the late 80s / early 90s, it was very popular to turn hit movies into Saturday morning cartoons.  The most successful was probably The Real Ghostbusters, but there were also cartoons for Beetlejuice, Bill&Ted, Back to the Future, Batman (which had been in the works for awhile, but didn't make it to TV until the hit Tim Burton movies), etc.  Given how vulgar the original PA movie is, it's kinda funny that a kids show was based on the franchise.  

Don't forget David Graf (Tackleberry), he's dead too. I agree with what you said & the other actors apparently too, they each turned down to reprise their respective roles.

I'll check "Lavatanula". Her name is Marion Ramsey.

Hey, I liked Bill & Ted. Actually, the cartoon was better than the movie. Ditto "Beetlejuice". He was cute in cartoon.
Hm, they did "Back to the Future"? Is it good?
Funny, I didn't like the 1st film much, for many reasons, boring nudity including. Guess I didn't like the beam lights being turned to Mahoney. I don't usually care for "charming debonair" characters but it's no brainer that the main audience digs hero types.

Marion Ramsey.  Thank you.  I didn't know that David Graf passed on. 

I thought the B&T cartoon was decent (they actually got Reeves, Winter, and Carlin to do the voices on the early episodes), but I prefer the movies.  Same for Beetlejuice.

If you liked the B&T cartoon, check out Back to the Future.  It's kinda the same where they have Doc and Marty go back in time to different places.  I think it aired for a year.  I remember one where they traveled back to the Salem Witch Trials. 

He did before Bubba Smith & George Gaynes. & Debralee Scott, played Officer Fackler's wife in 1st & 3rd movie. She rode him in the hood of car to recruit in 3rd.

I don't like "Beetlejuice" movie coz I don't like Winona Ryder.
Cool, will add to check BttF.

Do you agree that the 80s were good comedies? From the 90s I'd say "Loaded Weapon", action parody with Emilio Estevez & Samuel L. Jackson. From 2000s "Corky Romano" with Columbo guy playing gangster.

I'm a huge fan of 1980s comedy.  Ghostbusters is my 2nd favorite movie of all time.  I love the movies of John Candy, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd.  They just don't make that kind of comedies anymore. 

Loaded Weapon was a really good parody movie.  There were a lot of those in the 80s with Airplane, Top Secret, and The Naked Gun.  Sadly, that's become a lost art.  Parody movies now just basically make references to other movies.  There was a parody of Twilight, which is a movie that deserved to be parodied, called Vampires Suck.  I make it ten minutes in.

The 1st favorite is "Police Academy"?

I like Steve Martin - in fact, I got DVD with his movies. My favorite is "Dirty Scoundrels" in pair with Michael Caine playing con artists.

"Twilight" is bad. I like Robert Pattinson as singer but never bought into this hype. Frankly, I don't like vampire horror movies. There isn't anything scary about these creatures.

My first favorite movie of all time is Jaws.

Funny you mentioned my least favorite, Twilight.  When I was still courting my wife, she asked if I'd watch it with her.  Worse than I could've imagined.  How that movie franchise was a hit is beyond me.  Luckily, we now have an understanding that we won't subject the other the stuff the other doesn't like......except an occasional episode of The Wahlburger she asks me to watch.

"Jaws" is cool. Did you see "Orca"? It's about animal revenge; good film.

You mentioned "Twilight" 1st. What's "Wahlburger"? Cook show?

I've never seen Orca all the way through.  I know it was one of the Jaws copycats from the late 70s. 

Walhburgers is a reality TV show.  It features Donnie and Mark Wahlburg, and their family.  One of their brothers owns a burger franchise called Wahlburgers. 

Copycat? "Jaws" features shark that is carnivorous. "Orca" features non-carnivorous animal. Shark kills people at random, orca turned killer as revenge for the dead wife/child. Explain.

I knew it's sth. to do with food. :P

I say copycat, because it's basically a marine animal that feeds on people.  Sure, the species and motive of the animal are different, but the filmmakers were definitely trying to capitalize on the success of Jaws.

Joe Dante kinda did the same with his B movie, Piranha. 

After a bit of thinking, I'd say you're right - what for they would make harmless orca killer? The very idea is absurd. But that said, it's just movie. & I like it as I do "Jaws".

"Piranha" was dull. What marine horrors/thrillers there are that don't exploit this theme? Throw titles.

Well, the idea of a great white shark with a motive that attacks three guys on a boat is a little absurd too, but that's why its fiction.

Almost any marine / horror movie made in the last 40 years owes a little something to Jaws IMO.  The remake of Piranha even got Richard Dreyfuss to make a cameo as his character from Jaws. 

Sure but shark is carnivorous by its nature & orca isn't, is my point.

Is horror your favorite genre? I am fan since 5. My fam would borrow VHS cassettes from village neighbors & we would watch some fright with lights turned down. I like how my parents weren't bothered by me sitting & watching scary stuff. I really liked it.

Spent my leisure  time  of the past 4 days watching binging on Westworld. Incredible show. The finale is this Sunday.

I love horror, but I'd say that comedy is my favorite genre.  I have to be in the mood to watch a horror movie, but I can always sit a watch a good comedy.

There will be blood.

Paul Dano and Daniel Day Lewis need to do another movie together...

I've been in Christmas mode for the last week or so. 

Have only watched one full length movie so far, but that'll change over the next 23 days. 

Last week, we watched The Muppets' Christmas Carol, and very good adaption of the Dickens classic that does a great job blending the dark tone of the original story with the lightheartedness of The Muppets. 

Charlie Brown Christmas! ;)

Did they sing Christmas classics? It's not my favorite book by CD, I like "Old Curiousity Shop". Would like it to be adapted.

What's your favorite rare Christmas movie?

Not rare, but I must watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation every year. Must and do.

Also not rare, and not a Christmas movie, but funny (to me) story:

One year, way back when Blockbuster and renting movies was still a thing, my sister and I went out to go rent Christmas Vacation, and could not find it anywhere. We were so disappointed that our Christmas tradition was going to get spoiled. It was Christmas Eve and there were literally no Christmas movies at any movie rental place in our town. So we ended up renting Hitchcock's Psycho, LOL. And now we watch Psycho every Christmas. Been about 15 year now. Best Christmas tradition ever!

The Muppets don't sing any Classic classics in that movie, but they sing some songs Paul Williams wrote for the movie. 

My favorite Christmas movie is Christmas Vacation. 

I'm not sure what you mean by rare, but there's a Christmas special called The Bestest Christmas Present from 1985.  It's an animated special featuring the comic strip characters from For Better or For Worse.  I remember it aired on HBO when I was a kid.  I was able to find it on Youtube a few years ago, and two years ago, I bought a DVD of it directly from the creator. 

Mighty cool! I like "Christmas Vacation" but I look for recommendations, a bit boring to see the same big titles. I'd like rarities.

What the other Hitch you'd seen?

2KDS: see the post to SCaroline Z. Rare movies =  played by little known actors, not shown in theatres, maybe TV movie. Stuff like that.

I suppose the 1985 Christmas Special I mentioned could be rare.

As is the 1987 Garfield Christmas special, which hasn't appeared on TV, to my knowledge, in at least ten years. 

Not rare, but the 1988 Bill Murray comedy Scrooged, is extremely underrated.  I think it kinda gets lost in the shuffle since it was released the same decade as A Christmas Story (1983) and Christmas Vacation (1989), and close to Home Alone (1990).  But, it's a great modern version of A Christmas Carol, and one of Bill Murray's best performances IMO. 

Speaking of a Christmas Carol, to me, the 1951 British version, starring Allistar Sim as Scrooge, is the definitive version of the Dickens classic.  It could be deemed rare these days, as it doesn't appear on TV as much as more modern takes. 

Rear Window and North By Northwest are both great Hitchcock flicks. I wasn't too crazy about The Birds. I've got a lot of catching up to do as far as Hitchcock films go though.

As far as Christmas movies of the rare variety... I don't really know any! I love the classics. I can watch them over and over and not get bored. If TV specials count, I'm looking forward to reprising A Very Murray Christmas again this year (Bill Murray's special from last year). And I confess I spent way too much time drinking scotch "with" Nick Offerman (his Lagavulin yule log ad) last year too. Is it weird to think of that as a Christmas special? I might put it on again this year. I probably enjoyed that waaaaay too much and more than anyone else did, haha.

I might see if that Bill Murray Special is on Netflix or Hulu.  Although, to be 100% honest, other than small roles in Kingpin and Zombieland, Bill Murray hasn't really done much for me in the last two decades.

I mostly feel the same but then I loved him in St. Vincent.

I urge everybody here to watch The Sessions, with Helen Hunt. That movie moved me in ways I can't even explain. As a handicapped person, I have always wanted a "mainstream" Hollywood movie for "us"(disabled people). The subject matter of the movie is of great importance to me as well. I'm glad there is finally a movie that brings this particular issue to the public.

The Sessions was a fantastic film.

This concerns movie remakes.
As I posted earlier, one of the TV networks showed numerous Hitchcock movies a few days ago. One of those was The Man Who Knew Too Much. What was screened was the original 1930s version which I hadn't seen before - I had seen the 1950s version ( which featured the song Que Sera Sera).

Very interesting difference in plot between the two movies. In the earlier movie, the woman lead played a vital role at the end, doing something that I certainly couldn't see Doris Day doing!
Am wondering if it indicates the different ways women were perceived in the 30s as opposed to the 50s.
This had been pointed out in an article about the Nancy Drew books which became popular back in the 30s. A lot of the books were changed in the 50s. For example, in one of the books the car Nancy is in gets a flat tire. She changes the tire. In the updated version the women wait for a man to do the work.

I'm not a radical but thought it interesting. I highly recommend the early version if you haven't seen it yet. And it features Peter Lorre who's wonderfully evil as usual.

When I say movies I mean movies. That said, I like "Garfield"! My favorite comics. That Special should be fun. :3d

Well as I said, I don't like the book "Christmas Carol". I watched the adaptations you mention & then some but, being non-fan of story itself, it's a done deal. I like "A Christmas Story" very much. Such cute & funny.

Did you ever see "Silent Night, Deadly Night"? It's the 80s Christmas slasher which had cult following back then but now forgotten. I look for movies like that - ultra-rare, never talked about except tiny fanbase but still turning in various Top 10 lists. It could be anything - low-budget Christmas comedy, action, thriller & sure, horror.


I like "The Birds". The worst to me is "Vertigo" if we talk popular films. Couldn't stand Kim Novak.

Check his British films out - "Stage Fright", "The Lady Vanishes", "Sabotage", "39 Steps", "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (Am version Hitch did 2 decades later isn't as good: it lacks Peter Lorre), "The Lodger", "Lifeboat". If you're fan of Paul Newman - I suspect you are - "Torn Curtain". Here's full list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock_filmography

BBs song is in "A Very Murray Christmas", good reason to check it.

Hitch is cool like that, remakes his movies. :3d Compare as well "Saboteur" to "39 Steps".

I posted when you posted. Said the same about Peter Lorre & it's thousand times better than stupid Doris Day remake. That doggone ditty was really - I mean REALLY - annoying. Smb. should've shut her mouth.

Ive seen Silent Night Deadly Night, but to be honest, it didnt do much for me.

I also saw the remake of Black Christmas.  Terrible.  I do want to check out the original.  Oddly enough, Black Christmas, one of the earliest slashers was directed by Bob Clark.  Clark would do on to direct A Christmas Story.

SNDN had dumb characters. The music matched with the slash scenes was hilarious. I mention it to show what kind of Christmas films - obscure forgotten - I'd like to see.

Right now - horror "Black Ops" (2008) with Lance Henriksen. Immediately recognized him by the TV series "Millennium". Did you like it?

There's a newer Christmas horror movie that came out last year that I'd like to check out.  It's called A Christmas Horror Story, and it's an anthology movie, with three or four shorter stories, including one on Krampus.

About time I get cool news. :3d Thanks!

Again - did you see/like "Millennium" TV series? What will you advise to see? Did you like "Are you afraid of the dark?"? I'm big fan.

I never saw Millennium.  I did watch Are You Afraid of the Dark back in the early 1990s, and quite enjoyed it.  I was hoping that Nick would reair some of those episodes as part of their retro programming called "Splat."  I've seen some reruns of Double Dare, Salute Your Shorts, Doug, and Hey Dude, but not Are You Afraid of the Dark. 

I really liked the episode "The Tale of the Dollmaker". Who was your favorite character? I liked the kid brother of boy with glasses, his stories were the best. I liked the main girl too, the smartest with dark hair.

"Double Dare" etc. - is these horror TV series? Which would you advise?

To be 100%, it's been almost 25 years since I've seen an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark, so I really have no recollection of any of the stories or characters.

Double Dare was a game show, hosted by Marc Summers (who until recently was doing a show called Unwrapped on The Food Network).  It involved trivia questions and "physical challenges" which usually included crawling through slime or throwing eggs, or generally anything messy. 

I said "etc." What about the rest you mentioned? "Salute Your Shorts, Doug, and Hey Dude" - is these horror TV series?

Did you see 2 cult classics "La Casa 3" & "La Casa 4"? They're not related to Sam Raimi's films. 1st is about girl possessed with toy clown that her mortician father brought from dead kid & she & clown kill new people at the deserted house. The next with David Hesselhoff & Linda Blair & other actors trapped in the island hotel where the lonely actress ghost lives. She kills based on sins - greed etc.

Neither of those were horror shows.  The only horror based show Nick ever did, as far as I knew, was Are You Afraid.  Salute Your Shorts was a summer camp comedy.  Doug was a cartoon.  Hey Dude was a comedy that took place on a ranch, and featured a young Christine Taylor. 

I've never seen either of the La Casa movies.  Sounds interesting. 

Check TMC, both films must be there.

"Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is classic but Tobe Hooper made this film in 1977 featuring young Robert Englund (surprise! he plays victim, late dinner to crocodile) - "Eaten Alive". I think it's underrated. What will you say?

I saw Eaten Alive, and to be honest, I wasn't really a big fan. 

What would be your Top 3 h films that you think brilliant examples of filmmaking, script, fx, camera work etc.?

U.S. "Ring" is superior to Japanese. Agree? Any J horror is juuuuuust unbearably boorring with loong close-ups of faces a la "look at me thinking, stare into meaningful expressions".

Top three?  That's a toughie. 

I did prefer the US version of The Ring, but I do like some J horror.  I'm OK with a slow moving movie, but sometimes the run time can be a little long.  Example, the movie Audition was very suspenseful.  But, a 90 minute runtime would've been better than the 120 minute runtime. 

Instead of a top three.  Here are three examples of  great film making in horror....

1.  Jaws - Due to technical difficulties with the mechanical shark, Speilberg had to rely on tension, camerawork, music cues, and character development to create an atmosphere.  The audience doesn't get a good look at the shark until 2/3 of the way into the movie, but we're glued to the camera, thanks to John Williams' score and brilliant use of POV for the shark. 

2.  Halloween - John Carpenter's low budget slasher.  And one of the few slasher movies that's actually genuinely scary IMO.  Once again, the score and use of POV really helped.  This movie is also not overly dependent on blood, gore, and female nudity as later slashers would be. 

3.  Dead Silence - James Wan's first attempt at supernatural horror went under the radar, and isn't as well known as later movies like The Conjuring.  IMO, supernatural horror is the most difficult, as when it's done right, relies on atmosphere rather than cheap jump scares.  James Wan is one of the best modern horror directors.  This one has a ton of atmosphere, and a great reveal at the end. 

I saw "Lorenzo's Oil" on one of the "On Demand" channels, and was reminded how much I loved that movie.

There was definitely a cultural pushback in the '50s against women having outside-the-home competence. There were lots of professional women in movies in the '30s and '40s. Think of roles played by Barbara Stanwick, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Bette Davis, Myrna Loy, and Ida Lupino. Then, there's the 50s. Think of Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Doris Day, and the TV sitcom wives. The wars and the depression brought a lot of women into men's spaces. Previously, of course, women had been working damned hard and competently, making clothes and washing them by hand, growing, harvesting and preparing food from scratch, taking in "piecework" to augment incomes. But with the absence of men during the wars and the need for any income available during the depression, women started working paying jobs in significant numbers. After WWII, with the boom in the '50s, and the return from war of so many men, it was considered patriotic for women to make way in the workforce for the returning men. However, by that time running a middle class home was much less work than it had been before the wars, so stupid incompetent women were invented to justify them not working.

Note: this is mainly about middle class and wealthier women. Of course women have been working professionally as cooks, cleaners, clothes-makers, farmers, factory-workers, etc. since forever.

I think J horrors suffer from too much filler.

Thank you for detailed answer. "Jaws" is good till it gets to the end with Quint being shark's food. I liked him. It really looked as though Hooper would die.
"Halloween" is my favorite since about 8. Cool background music. The numerous sequels were hit & miss.
Not familiar with James Wan. I'll check what kind of movies he created starting with DS.

OK, what's your favorite movies disregarding the usual suspects "Godfather", "Back to the Future" etc? Tell your favorite less known titles.

Well, Hooper dies in the book, and was supposed to die in the movie.  But, the stuntman who was in the shark cage had to be removed after a heart attack.  They got great footage of a real shark thrashing the empty cage.  Not wanting to waste the great footage, they changed the ending so that Hooper escapes.

I love the Back to the Future movies.  Not so much into The Godfather, but mob movies dont do much for me.

Lesser known?  I really like old dinosaur movies.  The 1960 film Dinosaurus and 1975's The Land That Time Forgot are two favorites. 

Theres a spoof movie that was made by the Zuckers who wound up doing Airplane and The Naked Gun called Kentucky Fried Movie that I love.  Its from 1977, and some of the humor might be deemed "offensive" today.

"Back to the Future 2" is my favorite. Biff Tannens (future, past, present) had the funniest lines! Besides, sinister-looking Flea & Michael J. Fox playing Marty's daughter. He was quite convincing as girl. :-D Not mention McFly-Jr looks hilariously exactly like Marty, just loser.
That said, Crispin Glover as shy senior high schooler was amusing in 1st part.

Me too, mob movies rehash the same old without adding anything new. It gets dull.

Old dinosaur movies? Interesting, I thought Spielberg was pioneer with "Jurassic Park"?

Speaking of docs, what "The Making of" you really liked & it opened your eyes about the film? Not favorite but the "Making of Cujo" (Stephen King, about killer dog) would catch your attention, I think. The guy who played the boy said that it was fun & he came up with idea to have seizure due to dehydration - 6-year-old kid at the time! Dee Wallace praised him. & the heat you see inside the car, she & boy having drops of sweat - actually, it was chilling outside & the drops is the water the crew splashed. Well, check it yourself. :)

I kinda liked the "Psycho" doc too. The 1998 remake was epic fail. Even though director is well-known, Gus Van Sant. with Vince Vaugn - good comedian but not versatile enough to be cast in horror - as Norman Bates. Ditto cheesy "Rear Window" remake, the Superman actor playing perfect-as-is James Stewart role.

For making ofs, I'd have to go with Jaws.  Learning about how the various difficulties actually made Jaws a better movie was pretty neat.  Although, lately, I'm not as in to behind the scenes stuff like I used to be. 

Jurassic Park set a new standard for dinosaur movies, but it didn't come out until I was 13.  So, I fell in love with B movies like the ones I mentioned Planet of Dinosaurs and The Last Dinosaur, as well as Godzilla movies.

Now that you mentioned "Godzilla", what's the other monster movies you'd seen?

To me, definitive "Planet of the Apes" is 1968 with Roddy McDowall. I liked "The Abominable Snowman" (1957) too.

Before we talked about the U.S. films. What's your favorite British feature? Broadly speaking.

Other than all of the Godzilla movies (both US and Japanese), I've seen Gorgo, Cloverfield, and Rodan among others. 

I guess my favorite British movie would be Monty Python's And Now for Something Completely Different.  I know they're just filmed Flying Circus sketches, but I love it.  Holy Grail is great too.  Also, the Simon Pegg / Nick Frost trilogy - Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End. 

Lately:

The King of Comedy (Scorsese)
After Hours (Scorsese)
Slacker (Linklater)
Everybody Wants Some!! (Linklater)
Cafe Society (Allen)
American Graffiti (Lucas)
The Princess Bride (Reiner)

One of my half-dozen favorite movies of all time. I watch it every few years even now, despite having watched it probably at least 35-50 times total in my life (most of those times in its first 5-7 years after release).

Speaking of my favorites, I just introduced my gf to Rushmore, which she'd never seen. It's totally my style of humor (which is totally not hers), but she liked it OK. And I tried my best not to spout out all the lines along with the movie...I'm an extremely annoying human being. I know this.

I've also been re-re-re-re-re-watching Arrested Development here and there, because when there's not much else to do, there's always re-re-re-re-re-watching Arrested Development, The Office (UK), Freaks & Geeks, and a small handful of other gems.

I watched the Emma Thompson Sense and Sensibility again last weekend, after I think a decade or so. Same reaction: I love Emma Thompson and I love Jane Austen and the book S&S and I love E Thompson's work in the film, the screenplay seems fine, I have no conscious criticism with the direction or the production, but it just doesn't work for me somehow.
I think I don't feel that any of the men characters have any appeal and Kate Winslet makes Marianne rather annoying and I guess Emma Thompson alone just isn't enough - so casting is my issue.

I bounce around a lot with my top movies. We discussed several in the 70s movie thread, but All About Eve is pretty consistently my favorite. 

I very rarely do, to my own detriment. (I am boring and bored.) Since generally shedding the De Niro-type gangster movies I loved through high school and college, my list has rarely changed. I would like to like more ... but I don't.

Cool, new titles to check at Sunday.

I got Monty Python's Flying Circus in DVD. A bit funny. Is there film you like to which the ending you felt was different than you imagined? Different in bad way if everything BUT ending was good. Then different in good way when you thought the film would end this way but it ended that way which to you was unusual, brilliant idea to end it like that etc. Discuss.

First time for me. Funny how a review said that the movie was meh because it couldn't decide between being a fairy-tale for children or an adult satire. I thought that was exactly what made it great! Parodying a children's movie would be too easy of a target - instead, I think this is the type of movie you can watch both as a kid because it's a nice, well-told, well-acted story, and then catch up with all the humor and ironic detachment as an adult.


Now you're talking. Love Freaks and Geeks, love Arrested Development and think The Office may just be the best TV Show ever. Gervais and Merchant are two of my idols, I love nearly everything they've done, together or solo. "Do you not know who Eric Hitchmo is ?!"

I've got big - no, HUGE - DVD collection of horrors. Bought in different years, about 10-20 a year. Some of them I didn't get to, I usually select random movie in the disc with, say, 12 movies.
Well today watched "Signal" (2007), what to me at 1st seemed to be C-level, low budget horror with banal script. Little did I know that it's cult independent movie that was shown at Sundance Film Festival. & the version they showed there had different opening song - "Leave" by Heavens (as per Imdb board).
They might've changed it - main character Mya listened to "Atmosphere" by Joy Division. I didn't like it, a bit too depressive to my taste.
Anyway, this film is divided into 3 Transmissions to show different sides of the same story by the main characters.
It's what the title says - every device - radio, cellphone, TV - was effected by the noises/ interferences/ what-it's-called. It brought violence to people's brains giving signal to kill anybody you meet in the streets & in the buildings.
Starting with neighbors, f.ex.? & it gave identity illusion that they're not who they think they are, would see total stranger & think it's their friend - like that.
In short, I ended up liking it, despite being sure that I wouldn't (had bad luck with new millennium horrors, didn't like any with few exceptions).
I'd say Transmission 2 is my favorite - it had dark jokes & nice new characters during it; dialogs, one-liners were entertaining. If Jim Jarmusch made horror, he'd do it like that.
That said, it isn't "wow, this is cool! where was this gem all this time?" type of film. I like it but not to greatest degree.

Dead Silence has a terrific ending.  But I won't give it away.

Same with The Sixth Sense.  The only bad thing about the ending of The Sixth Sense was that director M. Night Shymalan (sp?) felt compelled to end all of his movies with a twist ending, and neither was as successful.

I like Shyamalan's "Signs". If the film is good but not the ending do you change to thinking it's bad?

Some folks say that too much CGI brings the film down. Agree/disagree?

I wasn't crazy about the ending of Signs, but I still like the movie. 

I do think too much CGI can hinder a film, especially if not done well.  For example, Van Helsing just looked like a CGI mess.

OK, got it.

Positive. That said, CGI creatures in "Langoliers" fit description in the book.

Now biopics - what did you like?

To be honest, I haven't seen many new biopics.  Love and Mercy comes to mind.  I really liked that. 

I guess it's new-ish.  I liked the Johnny Cash biopic from 2005, Walk the Line. 

There's one on Freddie Mercury that's been talked about for probably over a decade now.  But, it took Love and Mercy almost 30 years to finally see the light of day.

Ha! I said "now", not "new" [biopics]. Which old biopics you liked, then? Any famous figure, not just musicians.

This is not a biopic about one person specifically, but on the weekend I watched a really great movie based on the true story of an Australian aboriginal motown girl singing group in the 60's called The Sapphires. Was cruising Netflix titles and saw that it starred Chris O'Dowd so that's what drew me in. The story of these women is both sad and uplifting. And the movie was made by the son of one of the girls in the group, which is also awesome.

I find contemporary biopics to be mostly terrible. The most recent one that I thought was fantastic, however, was I'm Not There, the biopic about Bob Dylan.

Apart from that, I think that Raging Bull, Ed Wood, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and American Splendour are all really excellent biopics that come to mind.

Ah.  Even though it was inaccurate, and the surviving members washed their hands of it (after the checks cleared), I did like The Doors by Oliver Stone. 

The Babe (1992) with John Goodman was pretty good. 

Pride of the Yankees with Gary Cooper is quite good. 

Not really a biopic, but the movie 61*, told the story of Roger Maris's 1961 season, and it's very good. 

Cobb with Tommy Lee Jones isn't a traditional biopic, but it's really good.  And it stars the great Robert Wuhl. 

And, believe it or not, the made for TV Beach Boys movie, American Family, is, IMO, better than it's reputation, particularly the first half of the movie.  I will agree that it kinda goes off the rails in the post Pet Sounds stuff. 

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/518YJZHNVML.jpg)

At least, I'd like to watch it. (Truth of the matter is that it's developing into an unhealthy obsession.)

I'm getting it for Christmas. I should have got it for Sinterklaas (see link) but it got lost in the shuffle. Damn.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas   

Thanks for the titles, didn't see any of these before.

If we talk the cast, not the film, I like the "Summer Dreams" Brian, Murry etc. AF was kinda too goofy.

We talked about famous figures - now, what's your favorite films about everyday people but not written by screenwriter/the fictional book basis but inspired by real events?


2john k: did you see "Battleship Potemkin"? It's regarded Eisenstein's masterwork.

Coal Miner's Daughter: best biopic ever. Love & Mercy right up there.

Can't say I've ever seen Summer Dreams. 

Films about everyday people, but inspired by real events?  I guess Saving Private Ryan comes to mind.  Great movie.  Same with The Patriot.

I did see it & like too. Sissy Spacek fan. I liked the mother figure, that actress in fact plays acoustic guitar & sings folk. There's Youtube video. There's video as well with Sissy & the Band. She sang with "Loretta" accent. Not to forget Patsy Cline role.

Must see if you're BBs fan.

Favorite cartoons? Series & feature length.

Yup. And Levon Helm from The Band plays her father.

I know. You don't think I'd mention The Band at random? My 1st draft was "Sissy (daughter) & the Band (Levon Helm father)".

Is there non-musical biopic you like?

Cartoons?  Well, I could create a list on just Christmas cartoons.

My all time favorite cartoon (or show of any kind) is The Simpsons. 

Then, there's Looney Tunes (classic, not that recent show that was on five years ago), The Chipmunks (classic, not the CGI movies), South Park, King of the Hill, Family Guy, The Critic, Metalocalypse, etc.

Feature films.  I really liked the Shrek franchise. 

Everybody seems to like The Simpsons. Can you say why they created them bug-eyed & the mother has blue tall hair? Isn't the idea to display the typical American family?

I like "Looney Tunes"/ "Merrie Melodies". "Tom & Jerry" is favorite classic, ditto "Rocky & Bullwinkle". "Chipmunks" movie, not bad.

"South Park", boring last I checked. Besides, again, super-ugly characters.

Didn't care about "Shrek". "Toy Story" is favorite feature. Did you see it?

Regarding the character designs on The Simpsons and South Park.....I can't really speak for the creators, but they're cartoons. 

I know it's 20 years old, but I've never seen any of the Toy Story movies or shorts. 

Yeah - Capote, Malcolm X, The Last Emperor. Ummm. There have got to be more. I didn't like Amadeus or Gandhi as much as most people seem to.

Cartoons-not cartoons - what entered their brain even to depict typical mother in typical family with blue tall hair? If the cartoon created with idea to repeat after real people, don't create each of them bug-eyed as if everybody is twin. Ha! Lame.

Did you see "Two-Lane Blacktop" with Dennis Wilson's single role? Do you like "car" movies?


Thanks to answer. What's your fave cartoons? & did you see any car-type movies/ "Two-Lane Blacktop" being BBs fan?


& again ask question, it got backpage, john k might've missed it -  did you see "Battleship Potemkin"? It's regarded Eisenstein's masterwork.

Does Coraline count as a cartoon?
I don't gravitate to either war movies or silent movies - I've seen excellent examples of both, but a lot of boring of both, so I don't bother without specific recommendations - so I haven't watched Battleship Potemkin. But I'll add it to the list.
Same with car movies. I tend to be bored. I liked Thelma and Louise.

I like "Coraline" too, both cartoon & book.

The other question was to john k, hence the gap & said "john k might've missed it".

So did you see "Two Lane Blacktop"? Since you're BBs fan etc.? That was the question.

I love silent movies. I have probably a few hundred in my collection.

Yes, I did miss it. And no, I didn't see it (yet). I did see part one of Ivan the Terrible donkey's years ago, unfortunately with overdubbed English dialogue! But Nevsky is a real obsession----not sure why... Maybe it's the Good vs. Evil thing. And it's spectacular beyond belief. And of course there's the extraordinary music...

Let me chime in while waiting the last few minutes that my casserole is in the oven.

Love silent movies. Was introduced to them while at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in the early 80s, They had a year long series showing classics featuring Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, and Lillian Gish.

My favorite silents: Chaplin's The Immigrant, Easy Street, Shoulder Arms, The Kid, The Gold Rush, City Lights.
Keaton - The General, Sherlock Jr.
Lloyd- The Freshman, Safety Last.

Saw Battleship Potemkin as a kid. Only remember one scene - guys looking into a bowl of soup and seeing some extra protein that shouldn't have been there, ewww.
It came on TV recently and I taped it. Plan to watch it when I don't have an upset stomach. :-)

Cartoons - am still a fan of Rocky and Bullwinkle. Also the Chuck Jones cartoons such as The Rabbit of Seville, Rabbit Seasoning, One Froggy Evening, and Feed the Kitty (only cartoon that made me cry)

Biopics: Coal Miner's Daughter; Pride of the Yankees

Okay got to tend to the casserole, and watch some old episodes of The Great British Baking Show (so much better than those horrid Gordon Ramsay programs)

I love The Rabbit of Seville.

It wasn't THE question, it was A question, among three. No, I haven't seen it. I have no anticipation that I'd enjoy it.

It was the question you missed to answer. A/the is beside the point. I was curious if you'd seen it & felt weird when you didn't answer such simple question 1st time around (like I do, usually, as in feel weird when people don't answer simple questions with yes/no answer right away).

OK, let's start dialog - Would you say that today's movies don't really live up to "golden era" of movies? What's the latest recent movie you checked?

I'd like that many chime in this splendid thread. Thanks for writing your list down, Betty!

I checked some of the titles - can you say where Chaplin is eating his shoes & pretending shoelace is macaroni? It was popular during USSR, for some reason.

I'm glad that we both like "Rocky and Bullwinkle" & Lillian Gish.

The movie that Chaplin eats his shoe and shoelaces is The Gold Rush. They were made of licorice, and since Chaplin, like our Brian, had to do many takes, Chaplin and the other guy became ill.
There are many versions of the movie, including one where Chaplin gives the narration (and the ending is different). The reason for so many versions is that for some reason Chaplin failed to renew the copyright so it's now in Public Domain.
The better versions have orchestral accompaniment which includes a song Chaplin composed for the leading lady - it's now known as "Georgia"

Haven't seen Thelma Todd or Patsy Kelly. Will watch out for them on our TCM network, which often shows silent films late at night.

This is the "roll dance" from The Gold Rush. At the end you can hear the "Georgia" theme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DLdMa98JdM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DLdMa98JdM)

I see. I know the other Chaplin song, "Smile". Was it used in any of his movies?

Well now it's good time to get acquainted with Thelma Todd & Patsy Kelly. They made 21 funny shorts for Hal Roach in the 1930s until murder of Thelma. It was Patsy who played the friend of the evil old lady in "Rosemary's Baby". Later she won Tony Award in a musical "No, No, Nanette".
It's not silent movies. Check the links I posted & tell me what you think of it. Patsy was dubbed - rightly so - Queen of Wisecracks.

Smile was in the movie "Modern Times"

And a later Chaplin film, "Limelight" has a theme song that became quite popular

Michelle Pfeiffer is the best Catwoman! She just is. Deal with it. Everybody else before & after is ugly. :)

I watched Pulp Fiction for the first time ever last night (yes, I realize I'm late to the game on this one).

Anyway, great stuff. Samuel L. Jackson is the best, and hearing Christopher Walken describe the watch is quite momentous.

I think the film industry currently suffers because TV/streaming is doing so well. A lot of talent and creativity is focused there, leaving film a little wanting. That's not to say there aren't excellent movies being made, but I think it's thinner than it's been in the past.
I recently saw Manchester by the Sea. It was fine. Predictable, but fine.

One of the problems with today's movies is the lack of original ideas.  Seems like most big releases are remakes, reboots, sequels, spin offs, or comic book movies. 

A friend and I were talking over the weekend about how modern technology would ruin the premise of many movies.  ie. Home Alone.  With smart phones, that movie would be over in ten minutes if they tried to make it in 2016

I'm never seen Two Lane Blacktop.  To be 100% honest, it's not really on my cinematic bucket list. 

Since this came up, I decided to check it out over the weekend. Car racing movies don't really do it for me as a genre, but I was curious about Dennis' acting ability. I gotta say, the movie wasn't at all what I expected. Kinda arty. Some holes in the story, but I thought it was well shot. I loved the tense relationship between The Driver (James Taylor)  and The Mechanic (Dennis), and the enigmatic ending was so unexpected and cool. Definitely more of an art film than a typical car/racing flick.

KDS, this is where the movie chatter stopped, you should've replied to this last post I addressed


OK, you answered the 1st question. Now answer the 2nd.

Congratulations! Now you achieved wisdom. Tarantino is great director, his movies got clever phrases. If you filter the cursing, beneath lies sth. good. Fantastic OST to boot - except Dusty Springfield with "Son of a Preacher".

So, KDS, would you answer the 2nd question? It's highlighted in bold. "Do you like car movies?" & if you do, list which you like.

Eh, not really to be honest.

Was able to watch this. It was one of those funny screwball Hal Roach comedy shorts.
I wish short films (15-20 minutes) were made more often, and that they would play before the main feature.

The only thing tempering the funniness is that the film depicts "road rage." Down here we've had 2 high profile road rage incidents this year where the victims were local celebrities (former professional football players) who ended up shot to death. One of the trials ended last night.
Oh, for the good old days when arguments would end with one person giving the other a "knuckle sandwich" (punching a person in the jaw). Nowadays in this country the arguments end with gunfire.

Hm, interesting tendency - 3 people say they don't like car movies.

To anybody - KDS, Emily, Betty etc. coz I like comparing answers:  Is there any film you'd seen that you expected better but it's waste of time?

I could answer that by citing numerous sequels or remakes, but the one I that springs to mind is the early 70s horror movie The Wicker Man. 

I'd always heard great things about it, and about 15 years ago, I rented it.  Granted, I thought the ending was good, but the whole movie leading up to it was just bizarre.  For one, there's a musical number towards the beginning of the movie, that cut between a bar full of patrons and a naked blonde woman.  I have to say, after that bizarre, drunken / nude sing-a-long, it was hard to take the movie seriously. 

Car movies are not really my thing, no. Funny cuz my dad was a mechanic who ran his own shop, haha. Maybe that's why.

Tons. The English Patient, The Sheltering Sky, Gandhi and Amadeus (as mentioned above), anything featuring Daniel Day Lewis or Tom Hanks, or DiCaprio for that matter... just tons. Maybe I'm usually too optimistic going in.

Anything featuring Tom Hanks?  Are you referring to his early comedies?  His 90s Oscar nominated stuff?  Or his 2000s output?  Or the whole thing? 

Pretty much all of it. The comedies, I enjoyed, but I always had slightly higher expectations. And even in my memory they improve, then I watch them again and think, "meh, I enjoyed it but it wasn't as good as I remembered." It's an infinite Tom Hanks comedy loop.
The dramas, and other big-deal Hanks movies, I always give them a chance and they always suck and annoy me. Forrest Gump, I tried to walk out but they made me stay and watch until the end. It was a horror show.
I should add Tarantino to the I-always-give-him-a-chance-but-he-always-disappoints list.

To each their own.  I'm a big Hanks fan, though I'd like to see him try his hand at comedy again.  That style of "clean comedy" doesn't really exist in 2016.

I'll agree with you with Tarantino.  I think he's very overrated.  Some hip style and music, brutal violence, cartoonish blood, plenty of bad language, and make sure you have some quotes that'll appear on t-shirts and Facebook memes for decades.  I thought Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction were decent, but I don't think they are the great achievements in cinema they're often referred to as.

You and I disagree on so many things but you took the precise words out of my mouth on Tarantino. Weird.

Well, I figured you and I would find some common ground on something. 

 :)

I also don't like car movies.
I do like a "bike" movie, however - Breaking Away

Was unimpressed by The English Patient.
And as much as I love the music, I usually fall asleep about midway through Dr. Zhivago.

It is MUCH too long since I've seen Breaking Away. I'd forgotten all about it. It just jumped to the very top of my to-watch list. This weekend! Thank you!

I too watch movie beginning to end even if didn't like it. Sometimes it can indeed be rewarded by good ending. But bad movie is bad movie.

Do you like the idea of old movies get the 3D treatment? In the local theatre there were banners standing of "Jaws" in 3D. It was the only time I was going to go to cinema. But the schedule didn't allow. I bet it was very cool! What say you?

Cool, good to see I'm not alone. :) I sat thru it patiently waiting there'd be sth. interesting. Such boring film "Forrest gump". Like everybody & their brother likes it. Whenever I ask them what for they like it, they just say stupidly, "But everybody likes it, thousand people can't be wrong!". Ha!
Define "good film" - what should there be for you to like it?

I like avant garde/ independent films. I don't like violence if it doesn't add to the film. I like good action from time to time. Not fan of bad language but "Pulp Fiction" is too good film (except boring Bruce Willis).
I disagree about the quotes; every blockbuster gets quoted by fans, it isn't Tarantino who designs these T-shirts etc. It isn't fair reason to dislike the film. If movie gets quoted, that says that the lines were catchy, cool, adroit, meaningful etc. It isn't up to directors to pick the quotes to sell. Why care?

I'm not at all a fan of 3D.  3D is a gimmick.  It always has been.  It seems to pop up every time theater revenues go down.  Frankly, I'm surprised the current 3D trend has been going as long as it has. 

I've seen a couple movies in 3D, and I had it a little distracting.  If there's a movie in theaters that I really want to see, I'll look for a 2D showing.

I think you misunderstood my post a bit.  I'm not criticizing the shirts per se.  But, it just seems like Taratino purposely writes dialog with the intention of having at least three or four "iconic" lines.  It just doesn't seem natural to me. 

Tarantino's dialogue is absolutely not natural, nor is it supposed to be: the guy is as stylized as it gets! I remember thinking during Pulp Fiction--the first and only Tarantino movie I liked--that this was the whole trick: writing dialogue that was witty, clever, brilliant, memorable ... and entirely unnatural. Dialogue written by a film lover for film lovers, wholly conscious of the unrealism of the situation. You could almost compare it to Van Dyke Parks in a pop music idiom: you can do it, but it's disconcerting. However, that's more or less the only thing I've liked about his movies, because unnatural or not, at least the dialogue does have its moments. Otherwise they're just totally not for me.

Tastes differ - gimmick or not, it works. It tricks the vision that you might be with sharks in danger. It adds adrenaline. I like it. :3d I used to go to 5D - the difference from 3D is that there's special effects, water splashing, rats attacking you etc. A bit cool.

& I said that every blockbuster, as in popular movie with cast of famous actors or that which has cult following etc. generates catchphrases & iconic lines. Say, "Big Lebowski" (I didn't see it but some posters quoted that film), "Godfather", "Caddyshack". Even if writers intended to get few iconic lines in the script, it's people who use them in speech, the viewers. Therefore, to single out Tarantino movies is not correct.

Agree to disagree.  In my opinion though, the dialog and iconic lines in other movies come more organically.

Right.  Obviously there's a market for 3D, as they've been putting big releases in 3D for the last, almost ten years or so. 

I can see how some would enjoy it.  (There's one scene with two female swimmers from the Piranha remake that a lotta guys liked in 3D).  But, the few times I've seen 3D movies, it actually takes me out of the story a bit.  It's kind of a moot point for me though as I very rarely go to the movies anymore. 

Agreed. There's a distinct difference between trying to be something and being something.

Again, Tarantino isn't the only director who makes movies with "hip style", as you dubbed it. He's the best known. Don't Cohen brothers make independent movies too? Before mentioned "Big Lebowski", f.ex. - as I said, I will reiterate, some posters used the lines from that film. Quite bizarre artsy stuff.
The thing is, you're not fan of avant garde/ indie type films - I am. The dialogs were good imo.

Of course Tarantino isn't the first.  All I'm saying is that, in my opinion, the dialog / hip factor on Tarantino films seems forced to me.  Just an opinion, no reason to belabor it. 

We discuss, not belabor, big difference. Let's look at it generally. Every screenwriter wants their script to be picked up by director to make movie. For that, they make up some cool/funny/hip/catchy lines that in their view could be popular with theatre-goers. They definitely think that they would succeed, this is winner story etc. But for some reason, people don't get it. It's failure. So, Tarantino was confident about his films too but due to right or bad timing it could just as well be failure. It's people who decide what would be successful, the last say is theirs. Tarantino was luckier in that case. I'd argue that the lines in other movies would be "organic".

Next question: Did you see "Twin Peaks" feature film? Some say the series is very good & I read the feature is basis for the series. If that's the case, I may have missed sth. as I didn't understand what's the fuss about. OK, some girl was killed - and? I didn't even get what David Bowie was doing there, he didn't add anything to the story.

I've never seen Twin Peaks, either the show or the movie.  For the most part, I never really watched any hour long dramas when I was growing up. 

I really still don't to be honest. 

Speaking of growing, would you agree that the 90s in movies were bad decade? Is there 90s film that for you was the best film in that era?

Eh, that's hard to say.  I definitely think it was a down decade for horror movies.  There were too many teeny slasher - lite movies for my taste.

I tend to go for more escapist fare, so I doubt my favorite movies from the 1990s are going to make the list of any true film buff.  

I like a lot of 1990s comedies.  Home Alone comes to mind.  Wayne's World.  I like a lot of Jim Carrey's movies.  Kingpin.  Men in Black.  Groundhog Day.  Clerks.  American Pie.  

The 90s seemed to transition away from what I call "clean comedies."  Movies with Bill Murray, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Martin, etc.  And with movies like Clerks, American Pie, and There's Something About Mary, the R-Rated comedy started to be big again, and that continued into the 2000s.  While I can enjoy a funny, crude, comedy, I think it's sad that writers can't seem to pull off a comedy that's not R-rated today.  

Some non comedies from the 1990s I really liked include Forrest Gump, Independence Day, Jurassic Park, Edward Scissorhands, etc.

Personally, I think the 1990s were far more kind to movies than music.  

And if you're talking about "growing" movies in the 90s, you had

Honey I Blew Up the Kid (1992) - I can't believe Lloyd Bridges signed up for this.  The original was charming and fun.  This one was just.........eh....

There was a made for TV remake of the Attack of the 50 Foot Woman with Darryl Hannah.  It almost captures the campy B-movie vibe of the 50s and 60s, right down to the inexplicable scene when the titular character grows, and all of her clothes tear off, but her underwear grows with her. 

"Mask" is my favorite Jim Carrey film. Like it since 7. The other favorite comedy is "Stop! or my mom will shoot" & "Oscar", both with Sylvester Stallone. I am Stallone fan since 7. The best "Home Alone" is Macaulay Culkin, then 4 & 5. The 3rd shouldn't be done at all.

John Candy, I rmbr catching film "Once upon a crime", they showed it during winter holidays, liked it very much. "Men in black" was bad mainly because I cannot stand any movie with Will Smith.
You listed "American pie" - I didn't get impression you like youth-oriented stuff, interesting.
"Edward Scissorhands", the newness worn out, recently I found it in the DVD disc & quickly got bored. But as teenager, it was my favorite, as was "Jumanji".
Agree with the final bit re: 90s music.

The best black actor & funniest is Chris Tucker in my view, then Dave Chappelle, sometimes Martin Lawrence & Eddie Murphy in "Beverly Hills cop" (liked that Axel theme). Who would be yours?

I read in Imdb trivia that Lloyd Bridges & the rest "serious" acting cast in "Airplane" were purposely selected to play in that movie, nearly each of them played funny character for the 1st time & Lloyd in particular didn't like the lines he should say - "looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking/sniffing glue etc." but then after they didn't regret.

The point is, maybe these veteran actors just decided they actually enjoy get to play in non-serious movies & they shouldn't be too strict at their age about the scripts they're sent, movies they're invited to?
Case in point - Robert de Niro is much maligned in movie sites for taking roles in trash movies such as "Meet the parents" vs. quality stuff (though I think as comedian, Ben Stiller isn't bad, actually). Do you disapprove of many old-timers to be playing in cheap comedies & the like?

I can't say I've seen any of the Home Alone's past part 2.  Once they went to a different cast, I lost interest. 

I do like a lot of the raunchy teen comedies - Animal House, Porky's, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, American Pie, Road Trip, etc. 

I'm not a huge Chris Tucker fan.  I rented Rush Hour, but didn't much care for it.  I do like Dave Chappelle, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Craig Robinson, Kevin Hart, and Damon Wayans.

I have no issue with serious actors transitioning to comedy.  Both Lloyd Bridges and Leslie Neilsen did so for Airplane, and pretty much stayed in comedy for the rest of their lives. 

I like a lot of Robert DeNiro's comedies - Meet the Parents, Analyze This, etc. 

But, my point about Honey I Blew Up the kid was that it was a very mediocre sequel to 1989's Honey I Shrunk the Kids. 

I liked Rush Hour (to each their own, I can see why it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea), and even as a Beach Boys fan I'll always laugh at this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Co_4qOsbo8) scene :lol

Lolz :lol

Seeing that in previews actually enticed me to rent the movie.  But, the whole thing just didn't do much for me. 

This isn't entirely answerable, because there are aspects to taste - to emotional reactions, pleasure, aesthetics - that is too deeply psychological to be consciously identified.

But I'll mention two things that cause me to dislike a film: if the primary response it elicits from me is boredom or irritation; and if I am conscious while watching of the effort of the people working on the film, be they actors, set designers, writers, whomever (see Tarantino and Daniel Day Lewis, above).

I'd rank "Home Alone" as this: 2, 4, 5, 1, 3. The boy in the 3rd is too smart alec.

Some like prurient stuff, you're among them.

Actually, should've said "favorite black comedians". "Rush Hour" is great but I like Chris Tucker's stand-up work too, some SNL skits with Eddie Murphy & Dave Chappelle's stand-ups. Who's your favorite white comedians? Did you see their stand-up stuff in flesh (Baltimore?) or youtube?

Wrt the serious actors acting in youth movies, I got what you said, it's just you brought Lloyd Bridges & I rmbr before "Airplane" he played in serious pictures & sure am aware of Leslie Nielsen. Hence the question. Just extended from your point to other. Btw, liked "Meet the Parents" too but I'm sure you'll agree that it's not the movie role to be respected/remembered for.
Still, is there serious dramatic actor/actress playing in non-serious role - comedy, cheap low-budget horror etc. - that you think was the lowest point in their career? Besides "Honey Blew up Kid".

That is fair. Is there film you'd seen, past/present that didn't get Oscar which, in your opinion, it should've gotten?

Reds. It only lost because Henry Fonda was old.

Wow, ranking Home Alone as #4 in the franchise.  Your opinion is your opinion, but I'll guarantee that's an extremely unique ranking. 

White comedians.  George Carlin is my all time.  Then, there's Daniel Tosh, Mitch Hedberg, Dave Attell, Denis Leary, Bobby Collins, etc.  Under black comedians, I should've mentioned Cosby as his standup special Bill Cosby Himself is essential. 

I've not seen many comedians live.  I've seen Carlin a couple times (unfortunately, it was his later, angry old man phase, and I much prefer his 70s and 80s material), John Witherspoon, Daniel Tosh, Larry the Cable Guy, Jim Breuer, Steven Lynch (not a huge fan, but it was a free show). 

Sure DeNiro won't ultimately be remembered for the Focker franchise, but I think it's cool that actors that played such serious parts can have some fun late in their careers and even poke a little fun at themselves.  The best example IMO is the Analyze This / That franchise which pokes fun at DeNiro's mob movies.

A serious actor who hit a real low?  Maybe when Al Pacino had a bit pit in Adam Sandler's Jack and Jill. 

2Emily: not familiar. You listed films/actors everybody likes but not you. Which feature film you liked that everybody didn't & which actor/actress you like to see & think s/he saves even bad film? You mentioned before Meryl Streep. Anybody else?

2KDS: "Home Alone 2" is cooler than just "Home Alone". The faux villain - lady with birds - was really cool idea. Staying home is boring. Ending up in plane to New York by mistake & living in deluxe Plaza room - now that's far-out. Bonus point for Kevin's advanced tricks.

Years back, the TV showed dreadful flick "Billy Madison". Unfunny boring pile of garbage.

Agree about serious actors/ fun. Many still live in the past grumbling about today's movies being bad & refusing to play in them but rather dredging up the oldie goldies in interviews. De Niro knows his "legend" status, it's carved. Therefore plays with young actors in youth films.
Do you like Bondiana? Who's best JB?

To each their own.  But, the movie is called Home Alone. 

I tend to rate the 1st one higher for a few reasons. 

1.  It's a little more plausible.  For the same family to do something like this on two straight Christmases, and have Kevin stranded in two different locations, but still run into the same two villains? 

2.  Home Alone 2 was a fun movie, and provided some laughs, but it essentially followed the same formula.  Kevin fights with his family.  They have to rush to get to the airport, in the process Kevin is separated.  Kevin loves being on his own at first and does all kinds of hijinks, some involving a fictional mob movie franchise.  Then, he meets the seemingly scary, but actually very nice person who teaches him that perception isn't always reality (yep, he had to learn that twice, he forgot about Old Man Marley when he met the Bird Lady).  He is pursued by the Wet / Sticky Bandits, who go from petty thieves to attempted child murderers, and puts them through all kinds of physical comedy.  Hilarity ensues.  The first scary, now nice person saves Kevin from the crooks.  Kevin reunites with family just in time for Christmas.  Warm and fuzzy.  The end. 

Those are my well too thought out points about the first two movies of the Home Alone franchise. 

Other comedies to do the repeat formula for their sequel include Ghostbusters, Major League, and The Hangover.

Funny that I just read a list of the "15 Worst Christmas Movies" from ScreenRant, and it seemed like they put Home Alone 2 on the list just to take a dig at Donald Trump, who makes a brief cameo. 

Smb. in Imdb board said the same about "Christmas Vacation" - it should be called "staycation".

About happy end, every kid /family film ends like that. It's got to. The old guy was funny until we found he's kind. Ditto bird lady but I liked her kindness & "defense" better than the old guy's.

You missed the question "Do you like Bondiana? Who's best JB?". Answer.

I actually don't recall the term "Staycation" being used until fairly recently.  And, it's generally accepted any extended time off from work and / or school is a Christmas Vacation.  So, the word doesn't really have to refer to a trip.  Plus, they had to keep the title somewhat in line with the first two movies of the franchise.

I've never been into James Bond to be honest.

Really? The Imdb thread that post referred to "staycation" is old. But you're right, vacation is time off in U.S. Maybe the poster was British? There they use the word "holidays".

Is there any movie that you converted your wife to & vice versa?

I don't mean to derail your conversation but the "staycation" thing interested me. It seems that the word was coined in the early-to-mid 00s, and was popularized around the financial collapse in 07-08, as more and more people were "forced" to make their time off from work stay-at-home time. (That was the era I first heard the term, I think: around 2008.)

But it's such a near-obvious blend of words, maybe someone else did use the phrase as a joke just on an individual level? It seems plausible that a clever reviewer or commenter could have "invented" the word separately from the pop culture invention.

OK, sorry for the interruption: back to your discussion.

Hmmm.   I don't know if my wife had ever seen Summer Rental before we started dating, and we watch it at least once a summer.  I think I showed her The Monster Squad for the first time.  

I've gotten her into some older Vincent Price horror / comedies like Comedy of Terror and Tales of Terror.  I'm still trying to convince her to check out Zombieland, since she liked Shaun of the Dead.

Early on, she got me to watch Twlight, which stands as the worst movie I've ever seen.  

She kinda got me back into The Muppets.  I checked out on them when I was probably eight (around 1988), but she's a fan, and now I really like The Muppet Movie (which I never saw as a kid), Muppets Christmas Carol, The Muppet Show, and the 2011 movie reboot.  We also both enjoyed the Office - style show that was on ABC last season.  

That's about when I remember first hearing it. 

I can't think of any movies that people generally had a bad reaction that I like. There are some really bad movies that I enjoy - but that's another question.
I don't think any actor can necessarily save ANY bad film - even Streep. Though I've seen a few bad films that were much improved by her presence. There was a really bad movie long ago called She Devil in which Meryl Streep was hilariously good.
There was a period when Joan Cusack in a bit part could make anything funny. Or Chris Cooper or David Strathairn could ground anything that's getting ridiculous. Nicholas Cage could make anything grounded ridiculous. Or Bill Murray could make something not funny funny. Christian Bale or Holly Hunter could make a dictionary reading intense. Christopher Walken could make a dictionary reading psychologically weird. Emma Thompson can bring it earnest but humorous humanity. Keanu Reeves could just stand there and the set was improved. These things are best considered in hindsight.
In 10! years ask me about people from early this century.

 :lol

There may or may not be people about whom I'd make a similar statement. Great "actors," those.

I won't ask who you think are the best set decorations, but who in your lifetime has impressed you as a particularly interesting actor, the captain? You too, RR?

And I hope you're warm.

Emily, I might be the worst person to ask. Movies and TV are pretty low on my list of interests, at least in any respectable form. I'm more likely to enjoy people who are by all accounts one-trick ponies than people who are, I'm told, good actors. (I can have a stronger opinion watching live theater. Maybe it's about that divide. Maybe I'm just shallow. I leave open all options.) And besides, I don't watch all that much stuff, especially movies.

People whose acting I like across movies/shows (as opposed to individual performances I may have particularly loved) would probably be Phillip Seymour Hoffman, John C Reilly, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore...after that, it gets thin. I've loved Bill Murray often, but he's usually just Bill Murray, more or less. When I like Jason Schwartzman, I suspect I just like Wes Anderson. And so on.

As for set decorations, well, if in my day I've noticed Scarlett Johansson, Beyonce (oh, she's an actress), or Liv Tyler amongst the curtains and chairs, well...

As for warm, nope. It's warmed up to 12 (highest high in days), but we're expecting a foot of snow in return for the favor. We'll be back to single digit highs tomorrow just in time to shovel, and then we're down to the negatives by Sunday. I love Minneapolis and Minnesota ... usually. But c'mon.

That's a damned respectable list, both the decorations and the actors.

And those temperatures call for a movie marathon, with cocoa, a blanket, slippers and buttered popcorn.

Some of the above seem likely.

You're like "sweet pair Twix". :3d

Speaking of worst movies, you seem not to like current stuff. Is there movie from the 60s-70s-80s that you can say the same? Discounting reboots/remakes/ What was, so to speak, the "Twilight" of the past decades?

Thanks for reply. Never heard of Christian Bale, Holly Hunter, Emma Thompson, Chris Cooper.

Interesting actors: Ron Perlman, Sylvester Stallone (he isn't just muscle-bound guy with no brains, he's got underrated comedic talent), Julia Ormond, Abigail Breslin (for kid, she's impressive), Patsy Kelly, Audrey/Katherine Hepburn, Peter Lorre, Mick Jagger (super artistic), Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathy Bates, Timothy Hutton, Gene Tierney, Art Carney.

Did you see any stage play on Broadway? Other legitimate stage? What did you like?

It's OK to do it if smb. got sth. to add. That said, I do think like that too. F.ex. "Hipsterism" got 3 of you with Emily & KDS talking, it was fun discussion that I did not want to get in the way of such great dialog.

Yeah, I grew up outside of New York, so I saw lots of plays on and off Broadway, from Annie when I was 8 on up. I saw Evita when I was way too young to understand any of it. But the music and singing was fascinating to me. And Sweeney Todd and Cats and all that. I haven't been to a Broadway musical since I was a kid though. I had seasonal tickets to the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge for years. They did a mix of plays from Shakespeare through Moliere, Ionesco, Beckett, Stoppard, to completely contemporary. I think the most interesting experience though not the most interesting play was Burn This on Broadway with John Malkovich, Gary Sinise and Joan Allen before any of them were movie stars. Malkovich completely blew me away. He doesn't really fit on screen the way he does on stage. Just another few years until my daughter is old enough to sit through a play properly. I'm so excited.

This past week:

The Shawshank Redemption
Forrest Gump
When Harry Met Sally
The Tree of Life

Can I mention TV? Because with the deep freeze over Minneapolis (it's -23F at the moment, wind chills well into the -30s), yesterday I started binging on the TV show The Grinder. I'd heard of it maybe a year ago or so, when Fred Savage (one of the show's stars) was a guest on The Nerdist podcast. The show is an absurd comedy in which Rob Lowe plays a self-absorbed actor coming home to Boise, Idaho, after an eight-year run playing an attorney on a TV show (titled "The Grinder"). In Boise, he moves in with his brother (Savage's character), who is a real-life attorney, and his family. Lowe decides his TV experience is sufficient that he can contribute to the real-life firm, and--I said it's absurd--basically everyone except Savage totally buys in.

I've been looking for a new, small-investment (in terms of time and attention) show, and this is it. Hilarious.

Great show. Cancelled after only one season unfortunately.

Almost a badge of honor! OK, not really--a lot of crap gets cancelled after one season because it's crap--but it's far from the only good show to suffer that fate. Freaks & Geeks, anyone?

Seriously... and Firefly, of course. As for this year's cancellations... Vinyl and Roadies. Both amazing music based shows. Why??

I like the premise. I don't have TV but I have some streaming services. Where did you watch it?
My favorite TV from recent years was Galavant and the Killing.

The Grinder is on Netflix, which is where I'm watching it.

I loved Galavant, too.

Yay. I'll watch it.

I will go in person to the Monday night football game between the Washington Redskins and Carolina Panthers tommorrow....

Yep, I knew it, that is why I asked about Broadway. :3d I'm sure Maggie would get kick out of it. You mentioned John Malkovich - casual fan, the movies he played in he seems to be good actor. F.ex. "Changeling". It's good film with good cast. I'd add him to the "Interesting actors" list, as well as James Marsden from young actors ("Interstate 60"). Gary Sinese played in Stephen King's "The Stand". Speaking of King, Rob Lowe played in 2000s remake of "Salem's Lot".

Many actors working in film & stage say that playing in stage is fun & don't say if movie experience was good or bad. They say they enjoy & never refuse the theatre roles. Don't you think it's strange? They must repeat the same lines 100+ times if the audience liked it. The movies, they just do few takes, "Cut!" & off you go. Discuss.

I'd like to see "Vinyl" - Mick Jagger stood behind it.

How'd you like the Tree Of Life?

I was completely blown away by it. I'd watched it back in high school when it came out but didn't really get it. Decided to re-visit now and man...it's been a long time since I enjoyed a movie so much. Every scene just hit home.

I think that the fun of acting for many actors is broken up by the way movies are usually filmed: a few lines, cut, adjust, fuss around, a few more lines... they don't film the scenes in order, etc. so it's harder to get into it. Also, the immediate validation from the audience is absent.

You're smart cookie :3d - good answer.

We get to documentaries - many people say this is genre they prefer: it's real, with evidences; witnesses, survivors being interviewed, scans of rare pictures, archived material etc. Do you agree? F.ex., to my mind, it being "documentary" doesn't guarantee everything is true there. What say you?

There are some sci fi movies from the 60s and 70s that're pretty bad.  And some low rent horror movies. 

Two from the 1980s that come to mind are The Burning and Silent Night Deadly Night.  I'm a little biased because, with a couple exceptions, I'm not a big fan of the slasher genre, but I think these movies are both awful.  In my opinion, there's not an ounce of suspense whatsoever.  They both stick to the slasher formula of questionable acting, gorey kills, and a little female nudity thrown in.  But without the suspense of better movies like Halloween or A Nightmare on Elm St, these are just low rent imitations.

Wow. Based on your music comments, I had guessed you were in the mid-30s.

Nothing is guaranteed to be true. Always validate with other sources. I thought Blackfish was really good.

I really liked Vinyl.  I was sad to see it get cancelled so soon.  I think HBO could've rolled the dice on ten more episodes.  I guess they don't want it to get in the way of them showing the same ten movies over and over.  

I also think it's worth noting that HBO passed on The Walking Dead because AMC got it.

22.

Ovi is the man! ;D

Long time no talk. What's been up with you, man?

Not much, been working like crazy at two jobs! You?

I'm glad to hear, it's one of my favorites. You know the creation scene full of space/universe shots? Malick has a documentary/movie out called 'Voyage of Time' that is similar to the creation scene from 'Tree of Life', narrated by Brad Pitt. I can't wait to see it. Also check out 'Thin Red Line' if you haven't already!

Freddy Krueger is very good commercial idea for horror. Maybe the best horror villain. Who would be yours?

Did you like "Friday the 13th" franchise? The latest were bad. & "Freddy vs. Jason" was bad move on the writers' side. Meshing these chaps together didn't work.

What'd you like about it? I read the divided camps - some blame orca, others think she did it by influence of things. Who is right iyo?
I liked "Good Ol' Freda".

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the Friday the 13th movies.  I thought the original was good, but I thought the franchise paled in comparison to the Halloween franchise.  I always see the Friday the 13th franchise as just a bunch of faceless victims, and I thought they kinda made fun of that in Freddy v Jason.

Best horror villain.  I like Michael Myers a lot, especially in the early movies when he was just an unstoppable evil person.  Unfortunately, in the later movies, they went to ridiculous lengths to explain that evil.  

I also like Hannibal Lecter a lot, although, those movies are probably more suspense than horror.

Cool classic picks.
A bit of fun question before continuing the usual discussion - if these 2 were paired against eye-to-eye, who'd you bet your bucks to win? I'd say Lecter would beat Mike easily. He'd chew his mask off, then the rest. Your turn. :D

I'd pick Michael.  While Lecter might have the ability to outsmart Myers, Myers lacks any real logic or reason, so that, to me, makes him more dangerous in a fight

Definitely can see it.

Do you agree that there should not be Oscars, Saturns & other awards? Do you think it spoils the film industry & overrated?

Same old, same old. Trying to find more time to post here.


Thanks, I definitely need to check out more of Malick's stuff.

Days of Heaven is one of my favourite movies.

I don't think the Oscars or any awards really do anything to hurt or help the industry.  I kinda feel the same way about the Grammys.

Yes! It has been so long since I've seen this one but I remember so much from it.

The first time I saw a Malick film was much like Ovi's experience: I didn't really get it. But once you realize that his movies are more like poetry than a conventional Hollywood flick you come to appreciate the grand scope of what you're watching, and it all falls into place.

These award shows get boring quickly - same actors get them, f.ex. if you're young actor nominated the same year with veteran actor - consider you go home with empty hands. Bad timing, bad luck. Smb. would say it brings good competitive spirit but is there even difference in statues? Lead role statue & supporting role look the same, as do the numerous other tiny nominations. At least at Berlin International Film Festival there is Silver Bear & Golden Bear. Maybe premium/bonus differs?

Ideally, every actor/director should get single Oscar/ Golden Globe/ etc. during their entire acting career. Why collect the same stuff 5 times? Case in point: some actress - Candice Bergen? - she starred in TV series that ran many seasons & she would be awarded Emmy(?) each season. She got fed up & said to jury or smb. else that they don't nominate her anymore. They accepted.

OK, we said before best villain - tell your best hero in a film, any genre. Who do you consider "colorful figure in the cinema"?

Angelina Jolie directed "Unbroken" - it's in my "to-watch" list - she said to be inspired by Malick's filming methods & she's fan.

I thought it was revealing of the general truth that when animals are used for profit-making ventures, the well-being of the animal is not going to be the first priority in the treatment of the animal. I thought it was important to break the market-driven fantasy of the happy dog-like creatures in captivity. And I thought the film did it well.
Regarding whether anything was the orca's "fault" - ultimately of course that can't be true as the Orca had no part in creating the situation.

The Oscars are other awards shows are really just giant ego strokes.  Celebrities wearing outfits that could cost most actual moviegoers up to half of their yearly salary.  And as I said before, my preferred movies tend to be comedy or horror, two genres which are mostly ignored by the Academy.  So, I pay it no mind. 

Plus, just as the Grammys couldn't care less about actual music fans, the Academy is the same about actual movie fans. 

Best hero?  Well, I've always been partial to Batman, particularly the Michael Keaton version.   There's also John McClane from Die Hard.

Jolly good. Who is Maggie's favorite Disney princess & did you like any Disney films/cartoons as kid? "The Mickey Mouse Club"? Other Disney stuff?

Batman is good but not his alter ego Bruce Wayne. Batmobile is cool!

2-facet question: your favorite villain in "Batman"? Did you like the Christopher Nolan "Batman"? I'd say the best were The Joker, Two-Face. If Catwoman counts, she's too (Michelle Pfeiffer's definitely the best, she captured the "cat" looks, mannerisms perfectly).

My two favorite villains are The Joker and The Penguin.  And I prefer the Nicholson and DeVito versions respectively. 

There was a Batman Animated Series from the early 1990s that is excellent.

I do like the Nolan movies, but I prefer the Tim Burton movies.  I felt the Burton movies did the best job at mixing the darkness of Batman, but with some comic book humor.  Meanwhile, the Nolan films are relentlessly dark.  Still good movies though. 

Agree! Nicholson & De Vito did the best to look like Joker & Penguin. I've got funny story about Penguin: during winter/New Year holidays in 2005 or 6, last grades in school, me & my 5-year-old cousin would watch films in TV, they showed classic 90s "Batman" weekdays. "Batman 2", there is scene where Penguin writes, then suddenly turns to screen &  the little boy shortly shouts & does funny frightened face. After that, I'd mention that case to him. The boy's now 16.

The Tim Burton "Batman" is the best, twice agree. What can you say about "Spiderman"? The main issue is I didn't like the cast.

I'm not a huge Spiderman fan, but I did like the first two Sam Raimi movies (I thought the 3rd was a bit overblown).  I thought the casting was actually pretty good in those movies.

Tell the film that you used to be not fan/didn't get but after revisiting, it wasn't as bad.

The one that immediately springs to mind is The Nightmare Before Christmas. 

When I was 13, I saw it in theaters, and came away disappointed.  I don't think I was expecting a musical, or something so "cute."  Of course, in my early teens, I wasn't really into stuff that was whimsical or family friendly.  I enjoyed that stuff as a kid, and eventually came back to it in my late 20s.

So, 20 years later, I gave The Nightmare Before Christmas another shot an loved it.  Since my wife isn't a horror fan, it's one of the few Halloween movies we watch every year together (I consider it more Halloween than Christmas).

Maybe one day, I'll give The Santa Clause a second chance.  I saw it at 14, and didn't really care for it.

One very odd experience for me was with Robert Altman's Nashville. I wouldn't say I disliked it as I was watching it but it was a real struggle. I had to take breaks. It wasn't nearly as engaging as a few others I had seen. Then, without giving too much away, the last ten minutes happened and it changed my whole perspective of what came before it. It wasn't like a Sixth Sense twist ending kind of thing but I had no idea that the movie was heading in the direction it was heading and when it got there, the rest of the movie clicked into place. Upon rewatching it a second time, it became one of my all time favourites. I still think it's the best Altman and probably, for me, in the top 5 American films ever made.

I think Frozen is Disney(?) in which case one of those princesses would be her favorite. I worked hard to steer her away from the whole Disney Princess thing and was, for the most part, successful. She can probably identify most of them but I'm pretty sure that, outside of Frozen which was ubiquitous, she doesn't identify with any of them. I wasn't a big Disney fan myself,  but I have a soft spot for Robin Hood and Bambi.

Question to everybody - KDS, Emily, Chocolate Shake et al - which film stands out for you as the unconventional example, unlike any films you'd seen before & after? Discuss.

Heavenly Creatures.

Explain that choice.

I'll be honest, I can't really think of any off the top of my head. 

There are movies that set standards, but they're quickly copied, so one can't really say there are no films like them after. 

Although, I'm the wrong person to answer this question as, in general, I'm not a big fan of movies that are "unconventional."

How about The Wizard of Oz?

Apparently, as a kid, I watched it so many times that I wore out the tape and my parents had to buy me another copy.

 watching the actor Robert Blake lately-- all his stuff that I get my hands on.
the show Baretta.
watchable and charismatic leading man Robert Blake,the ham acting, and unintentionally hilarious melodrama-plus,the dated 70's fashions have aged like- a fine thing-that,uh.. that ages well.

 season 1 was officially released .
Seasons 2,3 are available as boots .
 Baretta has not been in regular syndication since the 1980's.
you've most likely never seen it. And I've most likely never seen mine.
I never once saw an episode of baretta . Never once saw Baratta. Not even in passing. Never saw it.  not. once.

you know that makes a difference . At least my theory is is that it does.
Not even to remember a title card. Or a title.
 to not have had a dim memory of at least a single moment of exposure to something. that's something.



It has a great theme song,too. I prefer the version from season 1. It's instrumental and funkier than the one featuring Sammy Davis Jr, on vocals. Something about the candyman--"oozes funk."  -- wait,no. I meant the *exact opposite*.

Paging Emily (Reply No. 362)

2KDS: Is there film role you'd seen that you felt s/he is miscast? Discounting the actors playing the same character, e.g. Batman, Sherlock Holmes.
1stly, the old devil couple in "Rosemary's Baby" - couldn't they cast smb. looking frightening? These are some cutesy doll pair. Thanks to it, this film is anything but "horror".
Now you.

I felt that the actor who played Louis Creed in Pet Sematary could've been better.  He was OK, but I thought a more convincing lead would've made the movie more effective. 

Rosie O Donnell as Betty Rubble in the live action Flintstones movie was an awful cast of miscasting.  I thought they did a great job with Fred, Barney, and Wilma, but Betty?  What were they thinking? 

It was only CGI, but I wasn't really a fan of Jim Carrey in the A Christmas Carol movie from 2009.  I always wanted to see the late Alan Rickman play Scrooge.

In some magazine, 50 actors made list of 5 favorite movies; "The Wizard of Oz" featured frequently.

I think Wizard of Oz is one of those special movies.  I think that's why nobody has tried to remake it.  There have been numerous spin offs, sequels, prequels, TV series, cartoon specials, etc over the years, but never a remake. 

That chap in "Pet Sematary" looks a bit like the guy from "La Casa 3", about ghost girl with clown. But agree.

"A Christmas Carol" is epic fail due to it. It worked for Carrey to age in "Lemony Snicket".

Which movie is family favorite that passed from your parents? The movie you 3 enjoy?

Well, The Wizard of Oz from a very young age. 

It didn't come out until I was nine, but when I lived at home, we used to have a Christmas Eve tradition of watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. 

Sweet. Type the 1st film you went to see at the nearby theatre. With classmates & teacher? With parents? During college?

I'm told the first movie I ever saw was ET, but I don't remember it.  I remember my father taking me to see 101 Dalmations.  And my mother took me to a lot of the Disney movies when they were re-released in the 1980s. 

In 4th Grade, we took a school field trip to see the 1970 musicial Scrooge.

During college?  Maybe Sixth Sense or American Pie?  I'm not 100%

You were just 2, wee lad. As you mention E.T., the boy didn't fit the role. It's like they rushedly picked some random kid to cast in movie. If there's good thing about Spielberg films is that the actors were cast rightly.

Is there any hyped-up youth film you didn't care for? The fuss of "Butterfly Effect" & "Walk To Remember" completely passed me by. Zzzzz.

I'd agree with Speilberg's casting except in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  The kid who played Short Round was beyond annoying.  But nothing as bad as Kate Capshaw, who happened to be with Speilberg at the time. 

Hyped up youth film I didn't care for??  I didn't see it until fairly recently, but I've heard Alladin ranked as one of the great Disney films.  Robin Williams was entertaining, but the movie itself didn't do much for me.

This past week:

Alien (1979)
Sixteen Candles (1984)

Horace & Pete.

It's hard to do so. It was a very extreme movie. Jackson seemed to really grasp how folie a deux works with adolescent girls and seemed to have no restraint in letting the film join them in the folie. It didn't try to explain or normalize or psychologize or editorialize. It just let the camera be another crazy participant seeing the world the way the girls did. I'm not aware of any other movie that went so fully into mental illness not as a watcher but as a participant.

Here's question to everybody - tell me who in your opinion was

1) the best deuteragonist (=2nd crucial character) &
2) it was not just great performance but the leading role totally paled in comparison?

I'd say Angelina Jolie could beat 5 Winona Ryders if they cast in film again.

As much as I like Bruce Willis, you can almost say this about Alan Rickman, as villain Hans Gruber, in the original Die Hard, arguably the greatest action movie of all time. 

It's good answer but to different question :) - best antagonist. Deuteragonist is same as protagonist but secondary, after main guy or girl. F.ex. in horror "Ghost Ship" the deuteragonist was the little ghost girl who befriended the main female character.

Take 2 then?

Allllllrighty then.   

Sticking with the late 80s, I'll nominate Bob Uecker.  He had a minor role at the Cleveland Indians play by play announcer in the movie Major League, but he had some of the funniest and most memorable lines of the movie. 

30 for 30: Broke
A movie thats always good to laugh at.. though i feel bad for the ones that got screwed over at no fault of their own

cant wait for the XFL one coming out in February and hoping they do one for 'bottlegate' if anyone remembers that great game in Cleveland

Ah, the XFL.  I remember my friends and I were looking forward to that league to bridge the gap between the NFL and MLB.  We watched one game.

Im surprised they still sell beer bottles as sporting events after that Browns game.  When I first started going to Orioles games in the early 90s, they only sold beer in plastic cups.

You said Cleveland & I rmbr the late 70s-80s show "WKRP in Cincinnati" about fictional radio station. One of the main characters is DJ played by Howard Hesseman who starred in "Police Academy 2" as Pete Lassard, Eric's brother.

Fun question: name the character you could be best pals with. Or just fun to meet/ be around.

The guys from Beerfest.  They kinda remind me of me and my friends when we used to hang out more, drink beers, and goof on each other.

Chris Gaines VH1 Behind the Music : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY1a3aqnwyw

Just watched Scorsese's Raging Bull. Wow.

New question to KDS et al:  Did any of you see the "Twilight Zone" & which episode(s) do you regard as favorite? Could be the 50s-60s show, 1985 revival series, 2002 series. Discuss.

Recently watched Behind the Candelabra (meh. I didn't really enjoy it) and Across the Universe (I kind of cringed through the whole thing.)

Love the 50s-60s show. My favourite one is pretty standard: Eye of the Beholder. But there's lots of great ones, especially from the first three seasons.

I couldn't make it through half an hour of Across the Universe.

Feel the same way about Candelabra.

Tell me about it, "Across The Universe" is super-boring (just like the song). Ha!

2 Chocolate Shake: would you answer the question asked in the previous page? Pasting: Which film stands out for you as the unconventional example, unlike any films you'd seen before & after?

It's a good question and I have been thinking about it since you originally asked. It's hard for me to answer though. There are definitely movies that I've seen that when I saw them seemed completely different and unique but then later saw other things that did something similar. When I saw Annie Hall as a young teenager, it was unlike anything I had seen. The movie, to me, shows the way our mind tends to organize our own past: it's disjointed and it's mythologized ("boy if life were only like this," the main character says at one point). But then you discover Fellini and he essentially does the same thing with 8 1/2 of showing the internal psyche of the main character.

Rashomon was also the first movie I saw that told the same event from different perspectives but there have surely been lesser movies since that have done the same thing. In fact, I'm sure I've seen them but can't remember any at this point.

In my late 20s, Robert Altman's Nashville was shocking in the way the "story" unfolded both in the dialogue and in the images. But there have been other movies I have watched that told different stories with similar stuff going on. We can say that 2001: A Space Odyssey (which I saw before and was released about seven years earlier) had much the same effect on me for similar reasons of pacing, dialogue choices, and imagery. Indeed, Altman himself pretty much used the Nashville formula in Short Cuts, Gosford Park, and Prairie Home Companion.

And that leads to my point that certain directors have their own unique and unconventional styles, like Fellini, Altman, Bergman, Godard, Antonioni, Kurosawa, Cassavetes, etc. But they have multiple films that reveal those unique styles.

So without feeling at all certain, I might suggest the Monkees' movie Head. I'm not sure I can think of a parallel for it at the moment, though there are other movies out there that convey a disconnected and absurd series of events, like sketch comedy movies like Monty Python's And Now for Something Completely Different or some of Fellini's odder movies like Roma. I suppose Head has Godard influences on it as well. But none of these movies are musicials either. So a difficult answer for a difficult question.

I never really got into The Twilight Zone to be honest. 

The movie Across the Universe came up.  One of my recent pop culture pet peeves is musicals written around a classic artist / genre's catalog.  We Will Rock You (Queen), Mama Mia (ABBA), Movin Out (Billy Joel), Rock of Ages (80s hard rock), etc offer watered down versions of classic songs.  I'm glad John Stamos's proposed Beach Boys movie seems to have gone away.

2Chocolate Shake: Thanks for [difficult] answer. Your bottom line is understood. If you like unconventional style, I advise to check Krzysztof Kieslowski (f.ex. "Three Colors" trilogy, "Dekalog") & Jim Jarmusch ("Permanent Vacation", "Stranger Than Paradise") next.

2KDS: what's your favorite science fiction series? Is it why you didn't like "Twilight Zone"?

To be honest, I'm not really big on sci fi, so I really can't say that I have a favorite science fiction series. 

When it comes to television, I tend to prefer light fare - sitcoms. 

Yes, I love what I have seen from Kieslowski. I have his three colours trilogy and have seen a few episodes of the Dekalog though unfortunately not the whole thing yet. But it's on my list.

I have seen a few by Jarmusch but haven't encountered his best work yet.

Lol. I have a big personal issue with Jim Jarmusch. No support from me.

Yep, figured as much that you don't like sci fi generally. Hence the question. ;)

During some actors' roundtable [in youtube], smb. quipped that Americans - the stress was to American viewers - don't like subtitles during watching foreign films/ shows. They'd rather it be translated to English with English-speaking voices. Do you agree?

Do you mean best to you or best by many i.e. his "cult classic" movies? If the 1st, would you explain what you didn't like? Curious.

I mean the movies that are considered his best by others. I have seen Coffee and Cigarettes and Broken Flowers and did not particularly like either of them.

I leaned towards that meaning. In IMDB boards, the best is considered "Dead Man". I didn't like it being no Depp fan. Iggy Pop & Lance Henriksen did well as far as their respective roles go & what was required of them in the script. But Johnny Depp, imo, plays the same role like broken record.

Agree about "Broken Flowers", the plus side was the road trip music. But the worst Jarmusch, if you ask me, is "Mystery Train". Would you agree/ disagree with sentiment that black&white adds special atmosphere to the film & even if it's bad it makes it better? You know, just the color. Or do you think bad film is bad & good film, should you watch it in Media Classic Player & set it black & white, wouldn't be better?

One of my top 10 movies.

Whenever I see a foreign film, I would prefer it to be dubbed in English rather than subtitled.  Just a personal preference, and there are times when the subtitles will sort of blend into the background which can be a little distracting.  

Yes that's why it was weird to hear that exclusively Americans didn't like subtitles. It was implied that, for example, in Europe, people don't mind it.

Popular American symbol is Bugs Bunny. Who would you add related to this topic?

Different strokes I suppose.  Most Europeans prefer soccer to football also.

What would I add about Bugs Bunny, except I think the old Looney Tunes cartoons are some of the best cartoon shorts ever made.  I think it's sad that you really don't see them on TV much anymore, so I'm afraid future generations will miss out.

Yes, Looney Tunes is great. In fact, it's in my DVD collection. But I bring up Bugs Bunny as I read he's American symbol, or among those & I'd like to know what's YOURS. Related to this topic.

I'd definitely say that Bugs is an American symbol / icon.  Probably not on the same level as Mickey Mouse (though personally, I think Bugs' cartoons are far superior). 

Other iconic American characters would likely include Scooby Doo, The Flintstones, Homer Simpson, but I don't think either of those reached the status of Bugs or Mickey.

Hey, I like Scooby Doo. I used to watch it every day after college :D. The Hanna-Barbera stuff is usually good except some.

You said you're against remakes, sequels. What about cartoon-turned-movies?

I'm not totally against remakes or sequels, some are quite good, but I feel that mainstream movies have been flooded with recycled ideas for a good part of the 2000s. 

Are you referring to cartoons turned into live action movies?  I really really wanted to like these.  I saw The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, and The Grinch with high hopes.  Overall, I found the casting was good, but the movies were lackluster, especially The Grinch.  I've also seen bits and pieces of Inspector Gadget and The Chipmunks and didn't care for them.

I did like the return to the big screen for the Peanuts in 2015.  Although I'd have preferred old school animation to CGI, I thought the movie still captured the old Peanuts vibe pretty well, and is a good companion to the previous four Peanuts movies.

Speaking of which, The Peanuts are definitely American icons.

Yes of course.

I'm with you - didn't like Scooby Doo, Grinch, Gadget but I think The Chipmunks was nice little family flick.

Don't know what "Peanuts" is, will check. I read that baseball cards used to be popular among youth. Did it apply to movies/ cartoons? F.ex. here, there was craze around the Pokemon chips.

Peanuts is the gang with Charlie Brown, Snoopy, etc. 

Baseball cards were tied more to sports, not movies, but at one time, they issued trading cards for various movies, tv shows, etc. 

Thanks for the Mystery Train tip.

I definitely think that some of the best looking movies ever shot are black and white movies but I also think that there are some great looking colour films, especially when colour was more of a novelty and filmmakers realized they could do interesting things with it. Plus, there is just something about that way that colour film looked in the 60s and 70s that appeals to me more than the kind of glossy and clear look that began even before the digital age. Unfortunately, in general, I don't think enough filmmakers consider the look of their films so no matter B&W or colour, I just wish that more would consider photography as a vital element of the medium.

You mean the dog Snoopy? At school, I read this comics about children, there was boy & the dog doing the thinking. The dialogs were rather dull. Maybe translation issue?

Re: baseball cards, I brought them up to ask if there was similar thing done to movies etc. OK. Any favorite film(s) about Indians?

Yep, tastes differ - what's worst to me could be *your* cup of tea.

You look at it from different angle. The question was, if you sit & watch the color film & it's bad, then switch it to b&w, would it better the film? Ditto good film, can the b&w make it great?

I don't think switching to black and white would necessarily make the film better. Maybe in some cases, though. But also, I would prefer it to be in black and white film not digitially switched. It's also hard for me to say whether or not I'm appreciate a black and white film because it's in black and white. It's difficult for me to divorce all the parts from each other, and also difficult to imagine what I might think of the film if it were in colour, because I don't know how the director might use colour.

Yes, the dog Snoopy.  The comic strip you're referring to is called Peanuts, which was created in the early 1950s.  This spawned an animated Christmas special in 1965, the success of which had lead to further television specials, a TV show, and five movies to date.  It could be a translation thing. 

Are you asking if there have been cards made for movies?  If so, then yes, but I don't think that's as popular as it used to be.  In the last 20 years, the baseball card trade has really shifted from children to adults with more disposable income. 

I don't think I really have a favorite movie about Indians. 

Snoopy/Peanuts was my favorite thing when I was kid, and I still love to watch the Christmas, Thanksgiving specials. The trailer looked really good but I've been on the fence about spending time/money to see this. Glad to hear it's worth watching!

I'll admit, it took me a bit to get used to the modern CGI animation, and definitely could've done without the use of a Megan Trainor song as I always believed the Peanuts gang to exist in a universe outside of time, so the contemporary pop threw me a bit.  But those are minor gripes.  It's definitely worth a watch IMO.   

That Megan Trainor thing bums me out. My one qualm with the trailer is that they used a Who song (made me wonder if they used it in the movie), and I totally agree with your outlook that the peanuts gang exist in a universe outside of time. But I guess it's just 3 minutes of song in a feature length film so it can't be too bad. Looking forward to seeing this though!

The Who song, Baba O Reilly, doesn't appear in the movie.  Luckily, the Megan Trainor song only plays during a brief scene, so it comes and goes pretty fast.

That's good to hear. Thanks for the recommendation!

No problem.  I really think if you're a Peanuts fan, you'll enjoy it. 

Sorry I missed this. George Sanders, Christopher Walken, Dianne Wiest, Shelley Winters and Joan Cusack in just about anything.
I like Beyoncé but Jennifer Hudson took over Dreamgirls.
Rita Moreno in West Side Story.
Harrison Ford in Star Wars.

Therefore, you disagree with other people that the b&w redeems bad film. & you like authenticity even in smallest details (imo the color is trifle & I use various digital devices to change the original film settings). Anyway, good points. I like hearing these opinions & compare. Do you keep open mind about seeing good films today, i.e. don't believe that the golden age of filmmaking is way past & there'll never be sth. as good?

Interesting, the comics I read was titled "Snoopy" & I thought it's the main hero. Checked some pictures in google - I forgot they're cute! :D Christmas special & 2015 is now in my list.

Yes. Thanks for the info. Which movie topics you completely pass by? To me it's drugs, historical (esp. 15-19 cent.), mafia, boring romance stuff.

Emily, same question to you as to KDS.

Well, considering I'm an Orioles fan and NFL fan, I don't have a ton of time to devote to movies.  So, that's made me very picky. 

So, most sci fi, mafia, modern action (all pyrotechnics with no story or acting), arthouse movies, alternative comedy, or "chick flicks" don't really register on my radar.

And, while I'm a huge Batman fan, I'm in general not a fan of comic / super hero movies.

Me too. I am mainly horror/ suspense fan. Not movie buff per se. Agree with your choices except sci fi (we spoke of it).
What can you say about artistic liberties? F.ex. L&M used them. Do you feel that it's necessary in some cases & at times, you'd rather see the events in film depicted accurately?

I think if a movie is based on a true story, you have to take some liberties to get it in a compact run time.  Love and Mercy is a perfect example.  Sure, Brian didn't start on Pet Sounds right after leaving the road, and Murry didn't sell Sea of Tunes at the time Smiley Smile was released, but since Pohland was focusing on the PS/Smile era, it would've been really clunky had they stuck to the actual dates. 

Also, at the end of the day, it's a movie, so we're to expect a retelling of the story that's not likely to be 100% accurate.

Well, I don't know if I would say I disagree but it would be very hard for me to make a judgement one way or the other about why I like the film.

Also, I'm not sure if it is authenticity that I like, only that I do think black and white film looks better than colour film that has been digitized to appear black and white. It's more of an aesthetic preference than a preference for authenticity. In other words, I'm not against digitization on principle.

I am optimistic about there being good films and I think there are always good ones out there. I do wish there was a "good film movement" like there was in the US during the late 60s and throughout the 70s but I think that we would need a massive cultural shift in order for that to happen. However, I never say never.

I'd like to see a return to good "clean" fun comedies.  Granted, I like a raunchy Kevin Smith / Judd Apatow type movie from time to time.  But, there's nothing being made now that's anything like the comedies of the 80s and early 90s with John Candy, Dan Akyroyd, Tom Hanks, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, etc. 

I usually avoid movies that are mainly based on the idea that people like watching people killing or otherwise attacking people.

Are you, by any chance, referring to the very tiresome horror subgenre - "tortune porn"

Ugh. I'm sure if I were familiar with that subgenre, I would have been referring to it, but no, I was being more general. There are lots of mainstream movies predicated on the idea that people like watching violence, with not much beyond that to recommend them.

Basically, these are horror movies whose main purpose is to shock and disgust.  There's typically a lot of realistic looking gore, and usually little plot, are anything else to really make the movie worth watching.  I'm a horror fan, but that subgenre does absolutely nothing for me as it doesn't tend to offer the kind of escapist entertainment I seek.  After 90-100 minutes, you just feel like you need a long shower. 

One such movie that I was subjected to was a movie called A Serbian Film, a 90 minute ode to shock.  I couldn't even tell you what it was about, and if I described some of the scenes in the movie, I might be banned from this forum. 

But, I see where you're going.  And that's why I don't care for much modern action - as it's usually high on pyrotechnics and body counts, and low on acting and story. 

Pretty sure we're on the same page here.

Yes, it seems that way.  Emily and KDS on the same page?  I like this thread. 

It happens not very infrequently when the topic isn't politics.

I loved a lot of their movies when I was a kid but I don't know if I would necessarily say those movies were clean. Movies like Caddyshack, Stripes, Doctor Detroit, etc. were pretty raunchy and adult-orient and were more than likely the single greatest influence on Kevin Smith and Judd Apatow (neither of whom I particularly like). While I think there is a place for those movies, I also think their abundance throughout the 80s was more of a sign of mainstream cinema becoming a bit more middle-of-the-road. I prefer the more chaotic, absurdist comedies from the 70s like Holy Grail, Young Frankenstein, and (okay it was 1980) Airplane. To me, those types of comedies have completely evaporated.

I should've provided examples.  I was thinking more along the lines of Summer Rental, Fletch, Funny Farm, The Great Outdoors, Dragnet, The Burbs, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, etc. 

Sure, there were also Animal House, Caddyshack, and Porky's, but I could actually sit down and watch Caddyshack with my father as a teenager.  Not to sound like a prude, but I couldn't imagine, at 15-16, sitting down with my dad to watch Clerks or The 40 Year Old Virgin. 

So, back then, I think you had more of a range when it came to comedy. 

And I'm with you on absurd comedies like Python, Mel Brooks, and the Zucker Bros.  That type of comedy is surely a lost art.  Now, you have stuff like "(Insert Genre Here) Movie" which aren't really parodies or absurd, but they just make a lot of references to movies while inserting d*ck and fart jokes. 

I found all three original prints of star wars on VCR for $2.38 at the thrift store.

Awesome. Do you have a VHS player? Are you converting to digital?

Jury rigged my HD TV to my vcr!

I ask after seeing tendency for people who study history/ famous figure/ crime cases to bash the film for these artistic liberties. They say that if the event behind the film is real, it must be 100% accurate.

OK, that's settled. What about fictional book adaptations? Does it annoy you to see that the film cuts some potentially cool/ interesting scenes present in the book?

Sounds like you've got sharp eye for that. I couldn't tell digitally switched from real b&w, should the color be unknown. At least it's not the main draw if I see the film.

Consider this: smb. trashes "Annie Hall" after your positive review of it. Or can be other revered movie. Would you be quick to say "troll" even after they explained themselves? Does it surprise/ shock you if smb. doesn't like the film that impressed you to the point that you thought it's impossible for thinking human to dislike? Did you ever even think like that? Again, in IMDB boards people disqualify anybody who diverts from popular consensus.

KDS' question & your answer clarified what you mean but can you drop some titles?

I usually ignore them so intently that I don't retain the titles - but I'll spend a little time today trying to think of some. I'll also add Disney for kids movies - the animated movies. I usually really don't like key parts of the message.

Do you mean the princess movies, the older animated ones, or the newer ones (ie. Nemo, Toy Story), and what message?

Whenever there's a movie based on a true event, you'll always have nitpicking.  I can kind of see it with a movie like 300, that only really based the real story as the basis for a living graphic novel. 

Movies based on novels are tricky because it can be really difficult to not make changes.  Whenever people say "the book is always better," I point to Peter Benchley's Jaws.  Had Speilberg's movie been a true adaptation of the book, it would've been awful.  Benchley's book contained such subplots as an affair and mafia ties to Amity, and the climax wouldn't have worked on film. 

But, most of the movies I've seen based on books have been satisfying, in particular the Thomas Harris Hannibal Lecter saga.

2Emily: OK.

Re: Disney movies, not sure but I think the message is sth. to do with women's role & the way they're perceived. Paging Emily.

2KDS: I didn't read "Jaws" but it sounds dull what you describe. I read King's "Needful Things" & super-long "It" & am glad that they left out some bits to make the script short. Do you find it weird that people rather go to cinemas & pay to see single movie instead of buying DVD for the same price or even cheaper to see 10-12 films in 1 disc? I never understood it.

Jaws, the novel, is basically a trash novel.  There's a surprising amount of graphic sexual stuff in the novel.  And the story doesn't really flow too well IMO. 

I used to understand the appear of going to the movies.  When I was growing up, in the 80s and 90s, movies wouldn't hit home video (VHS) for at least six months after they were in theaters.  And even so, you didn't always have the option to buy them.  You could also wait a year for the movie to appear on a premium channel.

Now, movies hit DVD / On Demand just 3-4 months after they're in theaters.  And with the price of going to the movies going up, I rarely find myself going anymore.  If there's a movie I want to see, I'm willing to wait to watch it in the comfort of my home. 

Also, movie audiences in the last decade have gotten increasingly rude.  There's no way I'll pay up to $15.00 for a Saturday night show to hear people talking at the screen or answering their phone. 

So, to me, the movie going experience really does nothing for me.  I know many movie fans who still relish the chance to go and see a movie right away.  But, I'm with you.  I'd rather sit on my couch, in comfy clothes, and watch a movie.  As I get older, I also appreciate the fact that I can pause a movie with a two plus hour runtime.  Sometimes, it can be difficult to sit in a cinema for 2.5 - 3 hours (if you include previews) without needing a...."break" if you know what I mean. 

1977 Star Wars was amazing! 8)

In all honesty, I used to think that way a long time ago, yes. But I didn't really understand the way art and personal taste worked then.

[quote author=KDS link=topic=16503.msg600731#msg600731 date=1484229307
And with the price of going to the movies going up, I rarely find myself going anymore.  If there's a movie I want to see, I'm willing to wait to watch it in the comfort of my home. 
Also, movie audiences in the last decade have gotten increasingly rude.  There's no way I'll pay up to $15.00 for a Saturday night show to hear people talking at the screen or answering their phone. 
[/quote]

I don't get to the movies often, not that I don't want to go but because it is so hard to be able to get away. And when I do it's usually to a morning movie, so don't have to worry about paying 15 dollars for admission. Now if I want popcorn, etc, that's where it gets really expensive.

Looks like I'm in a different situation from you all. It's hard to be able to sit at home and watch a movie on TV as my Mom is frequently calling for me. I have a backlog of taped movies that I might never get to. Also, I don't have good WiFi so watching TV programs or movies on YouTube, Netflix, etc are almost impossible. Constant buffering, then finally something appears stating in affect that I don't have enough "internet power" to watch anymore.

Thankfully, going when I do, I don't usually hear the talkers. Unfortunately, in seeing the movie "Fences" last week (an incredible movie BTW) the elderly guy in back of me kept talking - the lady with him tried to shush him but he stated that he had the right to talk if he wanted to. Fortunately he eventually stopped talking and I heard what sounded like snoring...

Some movies have to be seen on the BigScreen to be appreciated. Still remember the jaw dropping, awe inspiring cinematography in "Lawrence of Arabia", a film that can't really be appreciated on the small screen.
Next week, weather permitting, I plan to go to a movie theater which will have a special screening of Singin in the Rain. Why go to a movie that I've seen dozens of times? The place will be filled with fans who will most probably clap after the 4 show stopping songs/dances (Make em Laugh; Good Morning; Singin in the Rain; the incredible Kelly/Cyd Charisse number). It will be a love fest.
Another theater will be playing Rear Window a couple of weeks from now and I hope to get to that as well.

2KDS: "Jaws" novel sounds like snoozefest. I'll answer my question though - there is Agatha Christie story "Third girl" that has stepmother of the main heroine - the titular girl - who changes to "2nd girl", i.e. she rents 2nd room in the flat that was found by the 1st girl. But she is disguised by huge black make-up, powdered so she's pale & total brunette. But when she's not in London, in the countryside, she wears golden wig, no make-up, only light & she's totally different woman. That being she swaps between Norma's roommate & her stepmother. In the Poirot film episode that's lost, they just erased "stepmother". But usually, yes, the film is better than the book.

I decline theatre invites from friends. The loud munching/ crunching/ girls screaming if they see scary creatures - Hello! It's just movie, they're not real, for god's sake - is unbearable.

List the ultimate summer movies you think is weird to see any other season.

2Chocolate Shake: Which Canadian films you would advise to people not familiar with your cinema but interested?

Jaws was the first trash novel I loved, though I had a weird-kid take on it. I sent a letter to Peter Benchley asking how he got the idea and asking for a photograph of the shark (I think was 10 or so.) He sent me a very nice hand-written letter explaining his the development of the book, telling me he was writing another called "the deep" and telling me the story of it, and explaining that he didn't have a photo of the shark as it was fiction.

Disney movies: primarily gender role training and body image issues (for boys as well).  Older movies as well as modern movies but the princess movies are the most egregious, for obvious reasons.

I knew it's princess movies. You said before about them being bad influence to daughter.

Weird-kid take - tell it.

Did he mention the shark attacks in NJ in the summer of 1916?  I thought I read somewhere that provided some inspiration for the book as well. 

I have a non fiction book on sharks that Benchley wrote later in his life.  Apparently, he felt guilty for villainizing sharks in Jaws. 

Some of my go-to summer movies are Summer Rental, Weekend at Bernies, and One Crazy Summer.  Each of those are lighter comedies from the 1980s that take place at the beach.  One Crazy Summer has a tiny Beach Boys connection as it features four Beach Boys classics on the soundtrack, and it stars John Cusack, who would go on to play Brian Wilson.

Great question. The only real film industry in Canada for decades has been in Quebec because there's more of an emphasis on culture there. Unforutnately, I haven't seen too many but Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions stands out as a great one. Beyond Quebec, though, I think my two favourite Canadian movies are Deepa Mehta's Water (which isn't about Canada at all, but is rather set during India's revolution period in the 30s and 40s), and Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter. Whale Music which I always used to call the best Brian Wilson biopic is very good too.

A lot of people talk about the greatness of David Cronenberg but he is not one of my favourites, personally.

He did - and that there was a 20 + foot great white shark caught off the coast of Australia and he started imagining the consequences of one being caught  on the jersey shore - then expanded to what if it attacked people.  
Weird kid - I was very pro-shark watching the movie and reading the book. I was very angry with all the humans. Still am.
ETA: I am currently very happy with the response of the Cape Cod residents to the return of great white sharks.

I could definitely see being for the shark, reading the book, as the characters really aren't very likable. 

It's funny how Shark Week each summer raises a lot of awareness and tries to show people that sharks really aren't to be feared, but then they mix it some specials like "World's Deadliest Sharks" or "Shark Attacks Caught on Tape." 

FEAR its america, just like the news today someone was found dead, no clues police investigating but since their was a death last week in the same area the asshole anchor said there IS a 'serial killer' on the loose BUT police dont know :-\ then he spent 5 min sponsoring some bullshit product. all i was waiting for was to see last nights cavs replay since i missed the game...my mistake


Problem child, one of my favorite movies as a kid and im watching it on VHS

Agree re: favorite movie as kid. Dug it back in 2000-01. :3d

Prepared new questions to resume the dialogs.

2KDS: You might've read elsewhere that good comedy isn't just funny script & pedestrian actors that act out funny scenes. But actors must be good at being funny too. Conversely, they say to make drama is easier than comedy. Will you agree with either/ both statements? Disagree? Reason out.

2Emily: Being shark fan & rooting for it in "Jaws", what film villain - human villain - was your favorite character in it while the others were meh? & would you say that being villain is difficult than playing good character?

2Chocolate Shake Man: Thanks for Canadian movies answer. You've got daughter - Emily said she tries not to bring up daughter with Disney (princess) movies. Do you do the same, select cartoons/ kid movies for her? Or you're liberal & let the girl freely watch anything she/ her peers like?

I have no experience in acting myself.  But I have heard the statement that doing comedy is the most challenging.  I think that could be true because it does require great timing.  It's a pity the Academy doesn't feel the same way.

My daughter, who is 6, is generally free to watch anything in the children's "genre" though her mother and I do refuse to watch Barbie at home. She has seen it a friend's house, though. She has seen all the Disney princess movies and I might argue that the more recent ones like Brave, Princess and the Frog, Frozen, and Moana have done a good job at presenting more diverse and empowered girls. Ultimately we talk a lot about the things that she watches and just talk a lot in general and she knows that there are not any specific roles or appearances for genders and that it is a good thing to have diversity. In some ways, these movies allow for those kinds of conversations to take place.

Does she watch BBs sitcom? ;D

Haha. It's her favourite show.

This is a good response. Unfortunately studies show that learning about stereotypes and cultural expectations does the damage even if it's learned in a context in which the stereotype is discussed as wrong or inapplicable. I was careful to keep my daughter from being exposed to any stereotypes as much as possible - not just about girls- until it became inevitable that she would from outside sources.
And beauty is still a big big thing in, for instance, frozen.
But let me also clarify - she's not banned from Disney movies. I just steer her from them. She watched Frozen and several others that were big among her friends, but she's never seen Snow White, etc. because they didn't cross her radar and I avoided putting them in her way.
Just like any parent would avoid putting porn or super-horror movies in their child's way.
The children's genre is still really bad with gender stereotypes and male:female character and hero ratios.

Hooper. Sometimes Brody. Usually Hooper.
It's probably easier to play a villain than a good guy, I think.

I've always related with Brody.  Fool guy moves his family from New York to a quiet beach town.  He thinks the toughest think he'll have to deal with are "summer dinks" causing traffic issues and kids karate chopping picket fences.  But, no, there's a shark attack, and the mayor and the media (Carl Gottlieb's character) are covering it up. 

That's unfortunate. I will have to look more into it.

(http://i.imgur.com/4MBRYgj.jpg)

YES!

Dont tell mom the babysitters dead

I watched Annie Hall for the first time tonight with Bubs and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Debating on whether or not to buy the Blu-ray version on Amazon. A few CDs and comic books are contesting as well.

Manhattan is an awesome movie that I prefer to Annie Hall.

My Pet Sounds of movies will always be Casablanca

I'm not a huge fan of that movie, though it does bring back memories (I remember seeing it in theaters during Summer 1991), but it's rare that I finish washing my dishes without saying "The dishes are done, man!!" 

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/88/Walt_Disney%27s_Bambi_poster.jpg)

I've been watching on Hulu the Australian series "Please Like Me." It begins with a 20-something couple breaking up more or less as the boyfriend comes out, and goes on basically focused on him, his housemates, and his family. If I had to say the real theme, it's that everyone is f***ed up and that's normal. It's pretty funny.

Ken Burns' civil war! 8)

I finally watched Deadpool over the weekend. 

Pretty much an anti-super hero movie and, other than a brief somewhat depressing lull to explain why the main character agreed to become mutated, was highly entertaining. 

I think if I were a bigger comic book / super hero fan, I'd have gotten more of the apparently 100+ references / easter eggs, but still a fun way to spend 108 minutes.

"Rebecca", 1940 Alfred Hitchcock film. Then horror "Freaks" (1932) featuring real freak show artists. Dwarfs Hans & Frieda are simply adorable. I like dwarfs, I told my dwarf friend Daiana to see it. She enjoyed it! :)

You can't beat black & white horrors. Don't even try. Today's stuff isn't frightening, not to mention they've got dumb characters. Epic fail? Yep.

Since it's March, and St. Patrick's Day is upon us, I'll find some time to watch the lost Disney classic Darby O Gill and the Little People.

When I was a kid, this movie was on broadcast TV every March 17th, but has seemingly disappeared into obscurity.  Thank goodness for DVD. 

2KDS: You're big expert with American Horror Story. Being "Freaks" fan, reading blogs, I found its Season 4 was influenced by & took the idea of sideshow performers from 1932 film. Is it good? Interesting? Or should it be passed by?

Over the weekend, I watched Return to Oz for the first time (only took me 32 years).  I was huge into The Wizard of Oz when the movie came out, and I don't know how I missed it.  Though given the horror elements (since it was released during Disney's "dark" period), it's probably a good thing my parents didn't take me to see it. 

Also, my wife and I finished binge watching the sitcom My Name is Earl.  I watched the first two seasons or so when they first aired around 2005-6, but checked out on it during Season 3 when I just got too busy.  It's a pity that the show ended on a cliffhanger. 

I think American Horror Story: Freak Show was easily its weakest season.  The writing is poor and inconsistent, and it seems to be more concerned with shock and sexuality than horror elements. 

There is one episode that pays direct tribute to the movie Freaks.  (Most seasons of American Horror Story take cues from other, more well known and well done sources). 

I love Rebecca.
I watched the first episode of Feud. I'm on the fence whether to continue.

2KDS: Define "blockbuster". Do you think if film gets revenue bigger than budget, it means it's good? Or do you believe if it gets positive reviews it's good but failed to bring money?

2Emily: What you liked in "Rebecca"? Film editing, witty dry English humor dialogs, the cast? Did you read it? De Winter's speaking style was funny, he treated Joan Fontaine's character like granddaughter, not wife. She trying to do everything right, then everytime epic fails! Poor darling. Some random cuteness when she calls the dog chasing after him "Jasper!" "Jasper!". I didn't notice what the characters sound like, just what they say but the way she said that name was simply adorable.

Love Rebecca too. I find Hitchcock's movies much more fascinating up to Rear Window than I do anything that came after.

Would you answer the same question asked to Emily? I'll add that the music was kinda similar to "Vertigo" (which is the worst film by Hitch).

I'm not big on Vertigo either, though I prefer it The Birds which is chronologically the last movie of Hitchcock's that I have seen.

I can't remember exactly what I like most about Rebecca, although I will say that all of the movies throughout that period are tightly-written and nicely paced stories and Hitchcock was just able to create a very unique mood and feel stylistically. He's far from my favourite filmmaker so I haven't quite looked as deeply into why I enjoy the movies, but there is definitely something there in those 40s and early 50s movies that I like a lot: Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt, Rope, Strangers on a Train, and Dial M are ones that I love. I haven't read the original DuMaurier book to compare.

I completely agree regarding the best Hitchcock. Normally, I don't particularly agree, RR1, about color v. B&W. I don't have a consistent preference for either. But I think Hitchcock really knew how to use shadow and light in b&w and never used color as well.
I also think he just got too melodramatic and absurd with time.
Rebecca: so much. First, the shadow and light and the sets - the look. All the light before they move to Manderlay and all the darkness after the move. It just looks great and sets the moods really well.
Second - the actors: George Sanders is always so perfectly droll and sinister (the scene where he starts eating their chicken in the back seat of the car while casually blackmailing them. Just brilliant); Judith Anderson was really versatile but she does Mrs. Danvers so well you'd think she's type-cast; Joan Fontaine plays twitchy, insecure, needy desperation really well; and Lawrence Olivier, whom I generally consider overrated, was perfectly cast. Just amazing casting.
Then - the characterization - these types: the controlling older husband and nervous young wife and the manipulative, selfish but beautiful ex-wife. All so tired. And all turned on their head by the end of the movie (except, of course, Rebecca was right that telling Maxim she's pregnant with another man ends up with her dead - not cool, Maxim. It's a little like Jaws in that I'm not rooting for whom I'm meant to root. I despise Maxim.)
The fact that the main character doesn't appear once.
Yes - the super cute running after the dog - she's adorable.
And Danvers' lonely obsessive love.
Yay, Rebecca.
Oh, and I have read most of Du Maurier's work: middling.

I dont think a bigger budget, high box office totals, or critical acclaim make a movie good. I think thats up to the viewer. 

For example, Michael Bay has made some very expensive movies that have made tons of money.  I cant really say I care for them.

John Carpenter's Halloween was made for little money and was not received well by critics. Almost 40 years later, its regarded as a horror classic, and has more suspense than later, much more expensive, movies.

New "Poltergeist" is waste of budget. Crickets chirping. ::) & I'm not even fan of the '82 film, what with cheesy score & all.

I love the original movie, but didnt bother with the remake.  At this point, unless the trailer really blows me away, I avoid remakes. 

I checked out lsst summer's Independence Day sequel.  Wasnt bad, but I dont think it hold up to repeat viewings like the 1996 originsl.

2 KDS: What's it about Spinal Tap film that many like it? Did I miss sth.? It seems very stupid & boring.

Huh. I think it's one of the funniest movies ever made.

As you know, everybody's definition of "funny" differs. I'm curious why people find it funny/ good. That's the question. Before KDS chimes in, would be good if you answered too.

I can't really explain why I find something funny. Although I do find people in awkward situations to be very funny and that's all throughout Spinal Tap: people who think they know exactly what's going on but are, in fact, completely oblivious.

While I couldn't even begin to explain why I think something is funny, I think what is funny can differ on generations. 

I'm 36 years old.  Some of my father's favorite comedies (ie. The Pink Panther / It's a Mad Mad World) don't do much for me.  And likewise, he doesn't think Will Ferrell is funny at all, while I tend to like most of his movies. 

There's also a lot of modern comedy I don't find funny at all - ie, 2000s SNL or anything with Melissa McCarthy, Andy Samburg, Jimmy Fallon, etc.  It's all quite popular, but I don't get it.

2 KDS: Why not quote my question directly? It was general, not just funny aspect. What's about that film that people like? There gotta be sth. besides being funny.

2Chocolate Shake: I'd seen Spinal Tap. So it brings back to the point what's funny to smb., unfunny to others. Backpage you said didn't like some Hitchcock films. It leads - which universally acclaimed director you don't find much appeal in their work? Steven Spielberg, who else?

The first person that springs to mind is Christopher Nolan. A lot of more contemporary people probably: David Fincher, Baz Luhrman. I don't know if I'd call them universally acclaimed, though. I remember hating the one Douglas Sirk movie I watched, but maybe I'd feel differently about it now.

There are some positions that I take that are somewhat unconventional. I prefer Antonioni over Fellini, even though I love three Fellini films. I prefer Truffaut over Godard, even though I love a bunch of Godard's movies, but I find his superficial politics masked as subversive politics to be annoying.

EDIT: If these count, I also don't like Oliver Stone and, really, anything Tim Burton has done since Sleepy Hollow. Spielberg, I don't mind, but, no, he's not a favourite.