Saturday, April 3, 2010
What's Your Favorite Movie?
Welcome new readers! So, what's YOUR favorite movie? I hate this question. For me, too, too many to name. Those that use celluloid as an artist's palette. Those that make me feel smart, yet are smarter. Those that make me laugh and cry. Those that make me question life but reassure me of humanity. Those that make me think about them for days afterward. Those that do all of the above every single time I watch them. Want to suggest one?
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Hi Valerie. My favorite movie? Hmmmm....sort of like asking for a favorite sunset....there are so many! For now, I'm thinking of just one genere: westerns. OK, there are the great classics, including High Noon and Rio Bravo. But none really captures my fancy like Clint Eastwood's anti-hero western, The Unforgiven. The film is a rare real look at what the west was really like: dusty, gritty, amoral, wild. Instead of the handsome heroes riding into town with right on their side, we witness the scuzzy Clint, an alcoholic killer who seeks a reward posted by prostitutes. And look at Morgan Freeman by his side...a former killer who just got tired of shooing people! Add to these dubious, south-of-the-tracks guys a kid who's blind and wants to kill someone...and you've got the makings of true "grit"....Eastwood style! Magnificent film. Worthy of its Oscar.
ReplyDeleteOK, just rummaging my mind for another genre: Sci Fi. My favorite? Tough choice. From the original War of the Worlds to the Star Treks and Star Wars of modern times, it's a very daunting task. Upon serious reflection, I've got to go with The Terminator series. If only James Cameron had named his triad something like FUTURE MACHINES, something more enticing for viewers. So many viewers have not experienced the series because they think they're watching some kind of horror/killer flick. In truth, Cameron's vision of a world where computer-driven machines, developed by man, gain a consciousness of their own and try to take over the earth is about as fascinating as it gets. Add to the the vision the great, raw power of Arnold (before he became CA governor), the tech breakthroughs that show us machines run amok, and a few in-your-face lines, and you've got some super film stuff. Among the three, number two, featuring liquid-man, is tops. Of course, the first in the series was a gem too, with Linda Hamilton playing the hard-driven victim of the first time-traveling machine. And in the third film, the villain is a beautiful woman, who kicks serious butt as a terminator with a swivel head and deadly right hand! So, in the Sci Fi area, it's all three TERMINATORS for me.
ReplyDeleteI can't identify a definitive favorite. However, I believe Avatar is the finest movie ever made, and perhaps one of the humankind's highest creative achievements. With stunning imagery, groundbreaking computer animation, awe-inspiring action scenes, a somewhat thought-provoking story, and a completely fabricated fantasy world, Avatar is what Hollywood dreams to be. It's the collaboration of thousands of creative professionals, an escape from daily life, and an ambitious win-or-lose business bet. James Cameron and his team broke new ground, so, for now, Avatar tops my list.
ReplyDeleteAh, but think about it, David. By marketing Terminator as "horror/killer flick" it probably also brought some viewers in who most needed the surprise intellectual themes thrown at them!
ReplyDeleteOn to another genre: love stories. There are tear-jerkers galore in this category. Who can forget the forlorn couple in Casablanca? "Here's looking at you, kid." Or the friends-turned-lovers in When Harry Met Sally? Then there's the soppy 1970's Love Story, where, as in so many love tales, illness destroys the happiness of the lovers. As I try to find the favorite, I go to France for my choice: Un Homme et Une Femme. The 1968 classic tells the tale of two lost souls, a young widow and and young widower. Both have a kid. Neither can on with life. Then there's' the chance meeting, the swirling courtship, and love...or is there? Can the couple forget their prior spouses? Or is their love forever tainted by the memory of lost ones? With hauntingly emotional music, a romantic French setting, and clips that mingle time and space, the French masterpiece is my top choice.
ReplyDeleteDelightful hearing from Daryl.
ReplyDeleteYes, Daryl, Avatar is way up there on the list. 3-D beyond belief and an original, engrossing make it a top choice!
ReplyDeleteRight about The Terminator name, Valerie. Maybe it drew some audiences. Or maybe they just wanted to admire the self-proclaimed deity, the "king of the world," James Cameron.
ReplyDeleteAnd your all-time favorite, Valerie? Try picking genres, like I did, to make the daunting task easier.
ReplyDeleteAh, I just saw Un Homme et Une Femme before going to France! It is utterly beautiful. And you're right, the music truly drives the emotion.
ReplyDeleteBut among my favorite movies are not ones that boast crazy graphic animation or technology, but the ones that are gorgeously cinematic and full of emotion but not too sappy - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, When Harry Met Sally, Amelie, Life Is Beautiful, Love Me If You Dare (Jeux D'Enfants) - is it any surprise that most of these are foreign? I think the Europeans must have a good hold on how to be powerful with subtlety. But I probably only say this because I'm in Europe right now. :-)
Wes Anderson's careful aesthetic and meticulous direction in storyline and music choices, and Michel Gondry's respect for in-camera spectacle and human connection put them at the top of my list of favorite directors.
So happy you've joined our discussion, mon cherie!
ReplyDeleteJenna...what a smart young lady you are...which shows that the apple does not fall far from the tree! So you like the old '68 French love classic? The music still haunts me. I like your descriptors: "...gorgeously cinematic and full of emotion but not too sappy"... great parameters for the best films. Amelie...yes, a beauty. Audrey Tautou carries the film. l liked her even more in "...Pretty Things" and "A Long Engagement." Eternal Sunshine is one of Jim Carrey's really good works (although I'm strangely partial to Dumb and Dumber and The Mask). I agree on When Harry Met Sally....did not care for Life is Beautiful (your mom and I have hashed that one out). Keep commenting...we need your views! David
ReplyDeleteNow that I've had time to ponder this query, I've come to the conclusion that one single film can't be favored to the fullest extent. That's sort of the beauty of movies is the variety in makes, models, and colors. And different movies reflect different emotions, so what may appear to be a favorite movie at one time may not be at another.
ReplyDeleteBut I digress.
Many of my favorite films fall under Cop Drama or Gangster Drama genre. "No Country For Old Men", "Heat", "Dark Knight"
are all excellent films, not only for their intense story line and dialogue, but also the very clean cinematography and acting. O and machine guns.
Cult favs like "Fight Club", "Tremors", and "Donnie Darko" always remain on my Top Ten List. Movies with epic tales of adventure and travel, like "The Fall" and "The Lord of the Rings", lend themselves to very high-quality filmmaking and extreme creativity. And Tech-noir "Terminator" is tough to beat.
And each of the movies I've mentioned can certainly be appreciated on the surface, but it's the 2nd, 3rd...21st time you see them that you can really unravel what makes you like the movie.
Welcome Greg!
ReplyDeleteWhere did you learn to write so well?
I like your point about repeated viewings - that goes along with any movie that keeps seeping back into my brain. Example: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. Example: House of Sand and Fog
I am a sucker for great writing, so films like The Usual Suspects, All About Eve, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind! Ohhh, and dry humor like Best in Show. Gotta love those.
ReplyDeleteHi Greg: Great to have another of Valerie's crew online! Yes, as Valerie said, you too write well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your opener: almost impossible to identify a best film when there are so many shades to each creative product. But you go on to mention a few of my favorites.
Let me add a few words on each:
No Country for Old Men. Another offbeat Coen brothers work...but to me, not their best. Sure, Javier's hair is weird, and so his nail-gun...and Tommy Lee Jones is super as usual...but I could not find the depth in this one. I prefer Fargo and oddly, The Big Lebowski. Wouldn't you know The Dude would go on to win an Oscar this year.
Heat: Oh yes, what a thriller. De Niro and Pacino at their best. What a shootout in the streets! Val Kilmer at times steals the show. Love the tragic flaw--the need for revenge--that brings down De Niro at the end. The airport shootout....wow!
Dark Knight: Oh, what a genius Heath was. This was indeed his best. But as Bat-Men go, I still prefer the Michael Keaton character...stony, tough, distant hero. And I thought beautiful Kim Basinger was at her best.
Fight Club: I could not get into this one. I never mind violence... but somehow the rational for beating each other up was never conveyed. Brad Pitt has done much better things, in my opinion...e.g. 12 Monkeys, a classis sci-fi, which we've all overlooked. He should have gotten the Oscar for his acting in this one.
Tremors: A favorite indeed! Kevin Bacon shines. The effects of the big underground worms astonishes. Mind-boggling originality in a pseudo-horror film. I still watch my feet when walking in the desert!
Terminator: Check out my words above. Simply wondrous...all three of them. Arnold's words "Ahlllll be baaack" are household expressions here.
Your final paragraph is right on. You can watch the great films over and over again...and keep enjoying hthem and seeing new facets.
OK, I've ranted a bit. Needless to say, we mostly agree on top films.
Please keep writing. You and Jenna are smart cookies....did Mom have something to do with this??!!
David
Hi Keiko: Valerie said you joined RMHS a few years ago. I preceded you by a few...I taught there from '88 to '96. Great years. Miss the rascals I used to teach.
ReplyDeleteYes, I too am a sucker for great writing. I agree with your examples. I might add a few more.
How about Memento? Guy Pearce is searing as the amnesiac...and what writing it takes to have us follow his thoughts through time and space.
I also think of The Fifth Element. And while my thoughts are on Milla, how about her recent A Perfect Getaway... if you have not seen it, run out and rent it...can't give away the twist.
Or how about Fargo? The writing astounds.
Back to you, English Teacher! Keep up the important work with the kdis at RMHS.
David
On No Country for Old Men, Coen brothers or not, it's McCarthy that drives that film. I'm reading the novel now (on my ipod)--I suspect that there is a stark beauty and a terribleness in McCarthy's prose that defies transference into film.
ReplyDeleteFor favorites, one that popped into my head is Monster's Ball. Pan's Labyrinth is another. The best one I've seen recently--Up in the Air.
Oh yes, Pan. That's one of those that keeps coming back to me - my litmus test.
ReplyDeleteRe McCarthy - haven't seen The Road, but I agree that his style seems to defy transferring to film, since his is so linguistic. I loved No Country but had not read the book.
Did you know that the "being fired" group in Up in the Air were people who had actually just been fired in this recent economic crash?
OK you two, I beg to differ on No Country... Of course, I too was awed by Javier's hair, nail-gun, and bizarre "I have to kill you because I said I would" ethic. And yes, a few neat little Coen brothers twists...particularly the greed for money at the core of the story. But is there really much more? Can we really mention this film in the same breath as Fargo? Or The Big Lebowski? Or A Serious Man? Please Rhonda or Valerie, smart English teachers of RMHS fame, enlighten me.
ReplyDeleteRe: Monster's Ball. Nice call, Rhonda. We've overlooked that gem. Halle Berry's masterpiece...and good acting by Billy Bob....but nothing like his work in the most overlooked film of all time, Sling Blade.
ReplyDeleteRe: Up in the Air. This is one classy film. What chemistry there is between Vera and George! Fantastic twist when the finally-smitten George sees his love interest at home with husband and kids. As you said, Valerie, very timely for today's recession. Some of the firings were so uncomfortable I squirmed a bit. Recalled having to ask employees to leave in business. Are there really companies that specialize in this?
ReplyDelete