Tonight is a question. What other things would you like me to cover in the "My Favorite" articles. There are a couple genres I haven't done yet(e.g. classics), so those are obvious. But I'm curious what other types of categories people would be interested in seeing me cover.
Cold War Movies, maybe specific war movies (Vietnam, WW2, etc.), documentaries, TV movies perhaps, law movies...
ReplyDeleteGuest writers if your well is getting dry. :-)
Floyd, I'd be happy to have guest writers. :D
ReplyDeleteHow 'bout best action scenes?
ReplyDeleteGood idea.
ReplyDeleteFavorite spy movies (not just Bond clones, but WWII espionage, '70s spy thrillers, etc)?
ReplyDeleteFilm noir?
Silent films?
Suspense thrillers?
How about Academy award winning movies from..let's say..ummm..from 1939 to 1940?
ReplyDelete^Stagecoach and Wuthering Heights?
ReplyDelete;-)
Hmm... maybe we can get a little technical.
ReplyDeleteFavorite FX shots/sequences
Favorite sets/props (it could be iconic like a phaser or mundane)
Favorite film scores (though I think we've covered this plenty by now... maybe just favorite title themes)
Scott, You are playing a dangerous game there! LOL! There's only one safe answer to that and you know it!
ReplyDeleteBev, LOL! Good question! :D
ReplyDeleteBackthrow, I definitely want to do Noir films and suspense. I don't have a favorite in silent films -- I can't get into those for some reason.
ReplyDeletehow about your favorite films that Scott has said he would lie to see some day, but it might take him a while because he keeps getting hung up on the 11th viewing of Weekend at Bernie's 7 and Star Trek Next Generation, the complete film collection. (Scott, I'm just busting you here, so here is an emoticon just to make sure I don't inadvertently piss you off.) Seriously, it would be fun to see you do a series on legal films (can one find a happy medium between drama and reality) or maybe explore some character actors you liked and the roles that made it so.
ReplyDelete[rolls eyes]
ReplyDeleteDon't make me come up there! ;-)
I know it seems as if for every movie you guys mention that I've seen, there's another movie that I have not seen.
It means there's a world of movies out there for me to discover. And lest we forget, I'm only 31. I'm lucky if my peers have even heard of half the movies we discuss here.
Besides, I've never been one of those people who can just watch any movie at the drop of a hat. I need to be in a certain mood to watch something like Mulholland Drive.
Holy shit, I just figured out how to fix the RSS feeds! Andrew and I had been baffled for months. The movies.com feed here and the HuffPo feed on the Politics site were "stuck."
ReplyDeleteNot anymore. :-) (I changed the feeds so they're not exactly the same but at least they're not dead anymore.)
Great Scott! You'll have to tell me how you did it.
ReplyDeleteFYI, I'll be back out tonight, but will be back later.
I second "Film Noir" although it may need to be broken into classics and more modern films to give the latter a chance.You would be doing a service to mankind (ambiguity intentional) by covering RomComs. Plus some thrillers and dramas, but it is not so clear how to break these up. Legal thrillers/dramas would be great, given your professional insight, but suspense/twist thrillers and adventure movies are also contenders.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see you review a courtroom procedural and explain just how wrong Hollywood gets the law. As a nurse, I can tell you that Hollywood knows almost nothing about the world of medicine.
ReplyDeleteHow about a slight bend in the format: Forget the usual suspects like Al, Lucky and the Rat Pack. What about a list of gangsters who SHOULD have movies made about their lives?
ReplyDeleteThat said, I, too, would like to vote for lists of best Cold War and Film Noir movies.
Shawn,
ReplyDeleteI know a woman who is in medicine who complained about the way Hollywood does Defibrillation.
Growing up in the Cold War era, we were always taught to fear the inevitable self immolation of our species. So how about post apocalyptic movies exclusively from the sixties and seventies?
ReplyDeleteAfter that period, they become boring sermons (perhaps because at that point we know we're not actually under the nuclear gun, and probably never were), or treatises on how ignoble and pointless is mankind's existence.
Yes, that means we'd have to endure the Planet of the Apes and it's 37+ sequels. But on the bright side we could segue into Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp in the comments.
We've talked up PA quite a bit, I admit, but I think there's a different character to the ones made during the period when we were genuinely afraid of it that's worthy of investigation.
I remember seeing abunch of B&W features at school, titles for which I do not remember. So there may be a lot of minor features in the mix?
Best re-makes that no-one recognizes as re-makes.
ReplyDeleteCritiques of directors? I went to school with one of the directors of October Baby and Mom's Night Out...and while they are not well known, critiques or pieces on directors or actor/directors would be welcome...I know I have my favorites and my least favorites...
ReplyDeleteKit,
ReplyDeleteYeap, Hollywood likes to pretend that a defibrilator somehow jump-starts a non-beating heart when what it does is attempt to reset the abnormal rhythm back to a normal rhythm. CPR and epinephrine are used to try to reset a non-beating heart. Don't get me started on the magic drugs that knock people out in seconds and don't require you to breath for the patient (oh if it were only true).
That should read CPR and are are used to attempt to Re-start a non-beating heart.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see you list some underrated movies- great movies that have been overlooked by audiences.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should bring this up. I was watching Slingblade for the 352nd time(give or take) and when the scene came when Carl sqared off with Doyle - "what are you fixin' to do with that lawnmower blade?"
ReplyDelete"I aim to kill you with it, Mmmmmmhmmmm"
And I thought - wouldn't it be cool if commentarama films had as one of the film debates Favorite Confrontations.
Just a thought.
GypsyTyger
Funny this should come up! I was watching Slingblade the other day for the 352nd time( give or take) and when Carl squared off with Doyle I thought "wouldn't favorite confrontations make a good topic for a great film debate."
ReplyDeleteJust a thought.
GypsyTyger
Favorite film based on a Shakespeare play ... lots of those around.
ReplyDeleteFavorite death scene ... lots and lots of those.
And what about straight drama?
Love film noir.
Glenn
Suggestion #1:
ReplyDeleteI realize it's not a genre, but I'd like to see someone cover the Muppet movies.
(Yeah, maybe this doesn't fall under "favorites" if you're not into it, but maybe under "Toon-arama" if you loosen the definition of animation to giving the appearance of life to inanimate objects.)
Maybe limit it to theatrical releases, although I realize there have only been 7 of those. Maybe a ranking list. At the very least, I'd like to see some sort of comparative analysis of the appeal of the originals, the Henson postmortem decline, and the Disney debacles.
There's also movies like The Dark Crystal or Labyrinth by Henson that don't feature Muppets per se but use extensive puppetry. (Maybe an "honorable mention" in the rankings.) And Sesame Street's Follow That Bird.
Suggestion #2:
Also technically off topic, but a thought that popped into my head. (Use for an open thread this time?)
What profound concept or important life lesson have you seen in a movie comedy?
For instance, Tommy Boy (and Monsters University) taught us that book smarts aren't people smarts, and winning with teamwork means finding the best ways to use your skills. Blazing Saddles taught us that racism is stupid. Ghostbusters taught us that your brain can never be completely devoid of thought.
...I'm sure there are better examples out there.