movies you love -- or don't
Ok, so we've been talking a lot about music and books lately, but Sarah brought up movies, so let's return to those for a bit. I was wondering what movies you all love (that lots of other people don't love) or ones you absolutely can't stand (that lots of other people adore). Plus, has anyone seen something good lately that didn't make your earlier lists -- on DVD or in theatre?
posted by Lesley at 7:36 PM
17 Comments:
The last one I saw in the theatre was "Brokeback Mountain." I liked it a lot. I was so excited that the movie adaptation was so true to the short story. And it really changed my mind about Heath Ledger. I'm a big fan now. He acted the hell out of a western cowboy.
The best movies I saw last year were rentals: The Station Agent, Heights, (two small, quiet, indie films) and the documentary Rivers and Tides (about the sculptor Andy Goldsworthy who works in nature). Looking back over my NetFlix history, it appears that what I've watched most of in the past year has been TV shows on DVD. The only time Tim and I really get togehter is dinner time, and since we're often zonked from our days, it's nice to veg out and watch something. TV shows are easier to get through in his dinner break than movies.
I agree, Gretchen. Kate Beckinsale is amazing! I always get distracted when 'Serendipity' shows up on TV b/c she is just so darn pretty -- well, I probably watch it more for John Cusack, but she's equally charming. (I didn't like 'Underworld' a great deal, but I saw this morning that the new one was #1 at box office.)
OOOH, and Christian Bale! 'Batman Begins', 'Eqilibrium' -- heck, even 'Reign of Fire' -- he's yummy. I'm sure I couldn't stomach 'American Psycho' though I've heard it's good, too.
And combining forces, there's 'Laurel Canyon' with him AND Kate Beckinsale-- very cool movie, also with Frances McDormand as a rock n' roll mom to Bale's character who lures Beckinsale's character away from her academic work. Kinky in a realistic way.
I'm a bit behind in recent movie watching -- just watched 'Charlie and the Choc Factory' last night and liked it better than original (I know, sacrilege). I also watched 'Girl Fight' with Michele Rodriguez about a female boxer; it was surprisingly sweet and funny despite the title and subject matter.
Oh dear god, I cannot STAND Kate Beckinsale. She is my least favorite celebrity EVER.
Speaking of Velvet Goldmine, it's been a long time since I've seen it, but I remember being in awe of the cinematography. Is that the right term? I am not sure. The camera work, the lushness of color, costume, whatever. And Ewan McGregor + Johnathan Rhys Myers is fine by me.
"Girl Fight" made me want to learn to box. I loved Michelle Rodriguez in it. She disappoints me greatly in "Lost."
I LOATH her. 1. She's not a good actress. 2. She's not a very good person. I read an interview with her a long time ago, and when asked what the worst thing she's ever done was, she said she peed in a director's water cup. I don't give a flying fuck what kind of jerk the director was. You just don't DO shit like that. And she didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with that. If you DO pee in someone's cup, you don't tell the WORLD that you've done it! Ugh. I just dislike her intensely.
Love...Pillowbook for it's weird eroticness. Ewan Mc Gregor is lovely in it, but he dies in the end and is diposed of in a rather grotesque way. I love most foreign films. There was this huge section of foreign flicks at the library in Iowa and I would watch them all the time. Ghost World is just a Jen movie. Lesley agrees with this one. Chasing Papi! Extremely Cute and funny. There's also this chinese movie that involves sisters that cook, but the name escapes me. That one was good too.
As for can't stand, that would be trainspotting. The whole dead baby thing....
But if you're up for it start browing through the foreign section of your library. You might find some unexpected things.
Wait, I forgot to say once again, that I LOVE Secretary! Especially the end. But then that's because I get her.
It is. And it's more dominant submissive relationship than sadistic masochistic. And how can you not have lesbian moments about Anglina Jolie. Good grief, she's stunning!
I did sort of like 'Secretary' -- but it took a few days before I could accept that I liked it. Plus, I had a hard time getting around the whole Maggie Gyllenhaal thing: I can't stand her... or Katie Holmes, blech. Both of them talk out of the sides of their mouths, and it just bugs me to death. They are probably good and all -- it's just my own personal aversion. Now I'll risk an onslaught of abuse by saying that I do like Keira Knightley and Scarlet Johansson....
And yeah, Angelina. I don't know if I've ever really loved any of her movies, but she's always fun to watch. Has anyone seen that freaky film with her and Ethan Hawke? 'Taking Lives'?
ha ha. Maggie Gyllenhaal! I firmly believe that if she and I ever meet, we will become instant best friends.
I loved "Secretary" for more reasons that just her, though. It was a great movie.
Anyway, ask me anything about celebrity gossip, and I'll probably know the answer. "US Weekly" is my guilty pleasure and--wait a minute--I don't even feel guilty about it. It's a good escape. I don't mind.
I of course love the austin powers movies. But my all time fav is the sixth sense i love bruce willis i dont care if u all say blech i have loved him since i was 13. I have seen every movie hes been in. The transporter guy has a sexy voice. We just watched 2 last weekend it wasnt too bad. I cant stand anything with angelenia jolie in it she grates on my last nerve.
I have a couple of ultimate favorites... foreign: "Cinema Paradiso". I first saw this movie with my parents, garrett and our friend, Kelly Blackman, a year before he died. It was the first time we'd seen him since he was diagnosed with AIDS. *Since i was a little girl, i had the biggest crush on him... until i found out he was gay and my little girl fantasies were crushed.* :) But it's one of the most beautiful and heartfelt movies i've ever seen. It spans the boy/teenager/adult stages of a man's life and his relationship with the projectionist at the local cinema in a little Italian town. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's one of those perfect movies that makes you laugh, cry and actually FEEL nearly every emotion. And it really makes you appreciate life and all of the good people that make your life what it is.
Another movie that i absolutely adore: The Piano. The music, the acting, the story. I loved it from the first frame.
A couple of movies that i love that others may not so much: 1) "Harold and Maude". Okay, so some people think it's "disqusting" that this kid, who's in desperation for love, understanding and happiness, finally finds it in the heart and arms of an 80-something year old woman. I don't. I think ANY love is worth having. Whether it be the "norm", or not because of a difference in age/sex/preference. I think if love is celebrated and compassion is given, especially to those that ache and prize it, it's perfect without the need to be. Especially if it's as comfortable with humor and expression as these 2 characters seemed to share. Plus, you get the bonus of Cat Stevens music! :)
2) "The Lover". WARNING!!! Don't watch this movie if you're uneasy with sex scenes (As you might think the title might be warning enough). i think i love this movie because it seems so poetic... the narration, the characters... the cinematography. IAt a glance, a lot of viewers would watch this movie and come to the conclusion, "yeah, okay... it's a girl hooking herself out to a china-man in the early 1900's and she actually finds herself falling in love with him... whatever... it's a soft-core porn that squeezed it's way into american theaters." Kind of. But there's more to it. The characters are flawed and the storyline is drawn out in parts. But... it has warrantability to be such.
And since we're talking about actors/actresses as well.... I am in utter infatuation with Kiefer Sutherland. Mind you, this is only since the late 90's, when he started to REALLY get hot. But, damn!
And actresses... i am in LOVE with Kate Winslett. She's so amazing in practically every movie.
There have been a lot of foreign films I loved (most recently, City of God), but for the most part... I'm just going to say it: I don't really like foreign films. For a long time I felt like such an idiot for feeling that way, but I finally can articulate a reason for it.
I feel like you can really only enjoy a movie on a surface level if you don't speak the language. Sure body language sometimes speaks for itself, but there's so much subtlety that is lost if you don't have an intimate connection with the language, and you are reading the words but can't tell what emotion is behing them.
You know, I've never been a big fan of foreign films either, generally speaking. I mean, there are some I've watched and really enjoyed (mainly martial arts movies), but I don't always rush out to see them. Although one year at ESU, they held a French film festival, and I went to all of them: I found that if I just released my incessant need to understand every little detail as it played out, then I could kind of lose myself in the environment and language of the film. But I'm always the one who is like, 'what'd he say? what does that mean? where is he going? why?' I have to be in control of my viewing, so if I can't be -- esp. re: language -- I get a bit irritated.
However, did anyone see 'The Triplets of Belleville'? It came out 2 years ago maybe? a cool animated film that's a bit weird (hey, it's French) but funny and beautiful to get lost in....
And how could I forget Kate Winslet!
My current love is Clive Owen (not so much as King Arthur though -- neither him nor Keira too great in that, although he tries!) I really liked 'Closer' and 'Croupier' and his character's story is my favorite in 'Sin City' -- he's just a great bad guy. BUT he's also in this funny little comedy called 'Greenfingers' (yeah, kinda dumb title) about prisoners who turn gardeners. And OHHH I just love him in 'Gosford all the Brits you can handle Park'
So, oops.... I guess I can't say I dislike foreign films at all since I've just rambled on about British actors. Ha!
I forgot to mention the movie that i can never watch again it was the saddest and i cried through the whole thing and im not a movie crier. What dreams may come i watched it once and that was enough.
I was absolutely captivated by "Sin City." (It seems the older I get, the easier it is to watch violence. Not sure if that's a good thing or not!) Everything about it was so striking and stylized. The black and white with hints of color was really so gorgeous.
Talk about violent... the Kill Bills were awesome. All the fighting was so cool. Quentin Tarantino has such an eye for scenes and shots.
Hm. It's starting to sound to me like, if I'm not watching for a laugh (40-Year-Old Virgin) or fun (Harry Potter), I'm all about the movies with good camera angles, etc. We saw "Good Night, and Good Luck." last night, and while parts of the story bored me a bit, the long shots and the way the movie seamlessly blended old footage of the McCarthy hearings with new black-and-white scenes, wow. George Clooney is some kind of genius.
Man. That all sounds so pretentious. Anyway.
What dreams may come is totally depressing.
Crash was fantastic. I love the way some movies weave stories like a book.
And of course one of my all time favorites LEGEND! I bet they were cleaing glitter up for months!
My three all time favorite american movies are High Fidelity, Almost Famous, and Garden State. I love them because of the soundtracks, the fact that they are fairly simple, and mostly no one dies a really gorey death, at least not on screen. Also, the people aren´t unrealistically gorgeous. Gorgeous, yes, but I´ve known people that are just as attractive.
I love foreign films. My favorite is Antonia´s Line. If you haven´t seen it, you should give it a try.
And my favorite old movie is To Kill a Mockingbird. I watch it every few years.
I just saw narnia in the theater here, in spanish of course, but it didn´t matter. I didn´t like Lord of the Rings, and I haven´t seen Harry Potter, but I loved Narnia. Just wish I knew what the actors voices really sounded like.
And, I may get some hate mail about this, but I don´t think I could watch Princess Bride again. Or Legend. But...probably Labyrinth. That fox. Dude, he´s so damn great.
LoTR tangent, apologies to those not so impressed: So I'm not one of those people who dresses up, like, an elf or anything...... really, I'm not.... but I LOVE those darn LoTR films. Can't get enough of them. Put in the DVDs -- extended versions, no less -- when I clean the house like some people put in favorite CDs. Cry every stinkin' time. I am just that big of a dork. But I have nowhere near the kind of obsession I have witnessed from others in my field. I get all irritated by people who have to stand around and say how the films misrepresented the books. Whatever. (Okay, and here's where I have to say that while medieval studies attracts its own share of geeky weird that I try desperately to avoid slipping into, I'd like to believe that there is a larger professional base out there. We are not all just LoTR, cheesy medieval film freaks! We are actually historians, literary types -- very few of us wear elf ears. Although I did present a paper at a conference once on the film "A Knight's Tale" --- but that's another story. ;) That's all. I'm done.
Oh, but Hannah, I have to agree -- The Princess Bride is more fun to quote & remember but not as much fun to watch anymore. I'll open myself up to a little hate mail, too.
And by fox, I know you mean Sir Didymus (or however you spell it) -- but what about Bowie? Rowr! I have been tempted to find the soundtrack to that movie.
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