OK, I'm going to keep this post short and sweet. For the year 1937, since as you know I passed yet again, we only watched Snow White, a Disney classic. In fact, it was the first feature length Disney movie ever made. Of course, we've all seen it at some point in our lives, and we all know the story. Evil witch thinks she's prettiest, but no magic mirror says snow white is prettiest, evil witch hires henchman to put snow white's pretty heart in a box, henchman can't bring himself to do it, kills pig instead and put's the pigs heart in a box, snow white is scared and runs away, finds some dirty unkempt house in the woods, cleans it up and takes a nap, 7 dwarfs who whistle own the place, dwarfs and snow white become friends, witch pretends to be old woman selling apples, apples are poisoned, stupid snow white eats apple, snow white dies, witch dies and falls off cliff being chased by 7 dwarfs, prince comes and kisses snow white while she is dead, snow white is awakened from death because it was true love's first kiss, they live happily ever after.
That was one long sentence. Well, to sum it up, we both liked it better than the Best Picture that year, The Life of Emile Zola. You would too, unless you hate Disney and are into 19th Century French Literature. One funny thing we came up with during Snow White was that every one of the Dwarfs appeared to have a disability and they would make for an interesting self-contained classroom. Let's see....
Doc: Learning Disabled and Dyslexic
Grumpy: Emotional Disorder
Sleepy: Narcolepsy
Sneezy: Rare medical condition
Dopey: Developmentally Disabled (and mute)
Happy: Down's or William's syndrome (look it up)
Bashful: Autistic/Asperger's (in the socially awkward sense)
Alright, so in all seriousness, we've picked our next year and you will truly not believe it. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Year #9 and Year #10: 1930 & 1937
(Let me preface this entry by stating that I do not have anything against movies from the 1930's. Of the few I have seen, I have enjoyed most of them. I even loved a few of them. But what you are about to read is going to suggest otherwise....)
Why the hell do we keep picking years from the 30's? I mean, come on! In our 10 years we have selected thus far, 5 years have been from this wretched decade. And, frankly, it's making me look bad. These 10 passes we've received for this challenge were supposed to be spread out over the course of months and nobody was supposed to realize that I just about passed my way through this entire decade. (note: my passes were pre-selected if you were at all lost during my tirade). Well, not now. This cruel twist of fate (or random selection, whatever you want to call it) has put my 1930's bias right in the forefront. We first picked 1930. the earliest year we have to watch movies from. Well, guess what, we ain't watchin none. Don't give me that look, it's just the way it is, so suck it up. If you want further explanation, here you go....
Adam: PASS (3 used, 7 left)
Kim: PASS (1 used, 9 left)
Boo ya! Read it and weep. If you don't like it, take it up with consumer affairs. But it gets even better. More on that later. First I would like to briefly talk about the wonderful Best Picture from 1930 - All Quiet on the Western Front. No movie we could have picked from this year could have beaten this anyway. Whether you are pro-war, anti-war, or indifferent-to-war, this is a movie everyone should be watching, in their homes, in schools, wherever. It's basically a WWI that focuses on a group of school age boys who enthusiastically join the war feeling like they're invincible and are going to be heroes, then quickly learn the true horrific nature of war. I called it poignant, even though I am not quite sure what that word means. But there are certain scenes that will leave you with chilled fascination. I gave it a 4.5 score, while Kim gave it a 4.475 (Kim and her crazy scores!), totaling 8.975, a very respectable score. See, I'm not a 30's hater. Oh wait, yes I am.....
For the love of God, after we picked (and passed on) 1930, our VERY NEXT pick was 1937. Come on, man! (Think Keyshawn Johnson) This is where things started to get ugly, especially on my end. Let me show you how.
Adam: PASS (4 down, 6 to go)
Kim: Snow White
I swear I picked some movies from the 30's, so please don't be harsh. At least Kim picked a movie this year. But enough on this subject - we must move forward! The Best Picture this year was The Life of Emile Zola (yeah, we hadn't heard of it, or him, either). It was one of the earlier films we watched, so we don't remember much, but it was a decent film. Basically, this guy Emile Zola (real guy, for real) was this writer who was French and such, and he did some important things like 150 years ago. Don't ask me what. I gave it a score of 3, while Kim gave it a 3.6 and was interested enough in the movie that it didn't make her fall asleep. So, it finished with a 6.6, which was on the lower end of the scale, but certainly not the worst.
As for our picks, I seriously couldn't find any movie I wanted to watch in these years. I'm sure that somewhere, out there, there are some I would find enjoyable, but I'm just not a risk taker, I guess. Speaking of risk taking, Kim's one selection of Snow White was another safe selection of a movie she's already seen (but really who hasn't?) She swears she has selections of movies she hasn't seen, so I guess she's dealing with her own controversy...
We'll write back soon after we've watched the Disney classic, but for all you reading at home, now is your chance for audience participation. Who is more lame? Adam - who is too scared to watch old movies so he just skips them all, or Kim - who is too scared to watch films she hasn't seen so she just picks ones she has. And, of course, please tell us which movie was your favorite! All Quiet on the Western Front, The Life of Emile Zola, or Snow White, plus what other movies from 1930 or 1937 do you like? (if you know or have seen any) Lots of loaded questions on this post, so have fun!
Why the hell do we keep picking years from the 30's? I mean, come on! In our 10 years we have selected thus far, 5 years have been from this wretched decade. And, frankly, it's making me look bad. These 10 passes we've received for this challenge were supposed to be spread out over the course of months and nobody was supposed to realize that I just about passed my way through this entire decade. (note: my passes were pre-selected if you were at all lost during my tirade). Well, not now. This cruel twist of fate (or random selection, whatever you want to call it) has put my 1930's bias right in the forefront. We first picked 1930. the earliest year we have to watch movies from. Well, guess what, we ain't watchin none. Don't give me that look, it's just the way it is, so suck it up. If you want further explanation, here you go....
Adam: PASS (3 used, 7 left)
Kim: PASS (1 used, 9 left)
Boo ya! Read it and weep. If you don't like it, take it up with consumer affairs. But it gets even better. More on that later. First I would like to briefly talk about the wonderful Best Picture from 1930 - All Quiet on the Western Front. No movie we could have picked from this year could have beaten this anyway. Whether you are pro-war, anti-war, or indifferent-to-war, this is a movie everyone should be watching, in their homes, in schools, wherever. It's basically a WWI that focuses on a group of school age boys who enthusiastically join the war feeling like they're invincible and are going to be heroes, then quickly learn the true horrific nature of war. I called it poignant, even though I am not quite sure what that word means. But there are certain scenes that will leave you with chilled fascination. I gave it a 4.5 score, while Kim gave it a 4.475 (Kim and her crazy scores!), totaling 8.975, a very respectable score. See, I'm not a 30's hater. Oh wait, yes I am.....
For the love of God, after we picked (and passed on) 1930, our VERY NEXT pick was 1937. Come on, man! (Think Keyshawn Johnson) This is where things started to get ugly, especially on my end. Let me show you how.
Adam: PASS (4 down, 6 to go)
Kim: Snow White
I swear I picked some movies from the 30's, so please don't be harsh. At least Kim picked a movie this year. But enough on this subject - we must move forward! The Best Picture this year was The Life of Emile Zola (yeah, we hadn't heard of it, or him, either). It was one of the earlier films we watched, so we don't remember much, but it was a decent film. Basically, this guy Emile Zola (real guy, for real) was this writer who was French and such, and he did some important things like 150 years ago. Don't ask me what. I gave it a score of 3, while Kim gave it a 3.6 and was interested enough in the movie that it didn't make her fall asleep. So, it finished with a 6.6, which was on the lower end of the scale, but certainly not the worst.
As for our picks, I seriously couldn't find any movie I wanted to watch in these years. I'm sure that somewhere, out there, there are some I would find enjoyable, but I'm just not a risk taker, I guess. Speaking of risk taking, Kim's one selection of Snow White was another safe selection of a movie she's already seen (but really who hasn't?) She swears she has selections of movies she hasn't seen, so I guess she's dealing with her own controversy...
We'll write back soon after we've watched the Disney classic, but for all you reading at home, now is your chance for audience participation. Who is more lame? Adam - who is too scared to watch old movies so he just skips them all, or Kim - who is too scared to watch films she hasn't seen so she just picks ones she has. And, of course, please tell us which movie was your favorite! All Quiet on the Western Front, The Life of Emile Zola, or Snow White, plus what other movies from 1930 or 1937 do you like? (if you know or have seen any) Lots of loaded questions on this post, so have fun!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
1999 done!
Alright, so we finally got through our 1999 selections. Let's see...
First we watched "Virgin Suicides", which starred Kirsten Dunst, James Woods and Josh Hartnett, yet somehow managed to be a legitimate movie. It was about a set of 5 sisters, the youngest of which commits suicide and the events that follow. The girls' strict parents try to help them maintain normalcy while at the same time sheltering them from the evils of the world, and in the end, well... I won't spoil it for you, but it doesn't quite work out the way the parents intended. It was worth watching, not great but certainly not bad. American Beauty tops it without fail.
Last night we muscled through the 3+ hours of "Green Mile" starring Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan. Really excellent movie. We had both seen it before, and Adam had watched it pretty recently, but I hadn't seen it in ages, and I realized as we were watching it how little of it I actually remembered. Tom Hanks was great as usual, and Michael Clarke Duncan was excellent, and should have won Best Supporting Actor in my opinion (he lost to Michael Caine that year for his role in Cider House Rules, which I haven't seen, but there's no way it beats Duncan as the uneducated black drifter John Coffey.) This movie brought me to tears and that is not easy to do, so it has to win points there. As far as whether or not American Beauty beats it in term of Best Picture-ability, I'm sure Adam thinks that though Green Mile is excellent, it doesn't top American Beauty, and I see them as pretty evenly matched. I could not sit through Green Mile nearly as easily as I can American Beauty, but that doesn't make it a worse movie.
The next year(s?) have been drawn, so a new blog will come soon. Stay classy kids.
First we watched "Virgin Suicides", which starred Kirsten Dunst, James Woods and Josh Hartnett, yet somehow managed to be a legitimate movie. It was about a set of 5 sisters, the youngest of which commits suicide and the events that follow. The girls' strict parents try to help them maintain normalcy while at the same time sheltering them from the evils of the world, and in the end, well... I won't spoil it for you, but it doesn't quite work out the way the parents intended. It was worth watching, not great but certainly not bad. American Beauty tops it without fail.
Last night we muscled through the 3+ hours of "Green Mile" starring Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan. Really excellent movie. We had both seen it before, and Adam had watched it pretty recently, but I hadn't seen it in ages, and I realized as we were watching it how little of it I actually remembered. Tom Hanks was great as usual, and Michael Clarke Duncan was excellent, and should have won Best Supporting Actor in my opinion (he lost to Michael Caine that year for his role in Cider House Rules, which I haven't seen, but there's no way it beats Duncan as the uneducated black drifter John Coffey.) This movie brought me to tears and that is not easy to do, so it has to win points there. As far as whether or not American Beauty beats it in term of Best Picture-ability, I'm sure Adam thinks that though Green Mile is excellent, it doesn't top American Beauty, and I see them as pretty evenly matched. I could not sit through Green Mile nearly as easily as I can American Beauty, but that doesn't make it a worse movie.
The next year(s?) have been drawn, so a new blog will come soon. Stay classy kids.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Year #8: 1999
So, we've finally reached the modern era and we're going to party like it's 1999. This is the first year we have selected in which we were actually alive at the time of the movie's release. So it should be fun times. Things were good back in 1999. The music was good. Oh no, wait, I'm mistaken - the music was GREAT. Ahhh...weren't those the days? It just so happened that the movies weren't so bad that year either (I know, some of you are still thinking...he picked "Nookie"? Really?) The Best Picture from '99 is quite simply one of the best movies ever made, and if you have never seen it, you should truly be ashamed of yourself. In fact, if you haven't seen it, stop reading right now, get in your car and RENT it. NOW. Watch it tonight. Twice. You owe it to yourself. Please. But since you have seen it, because come on, no one could possibly deprive themselves like that, you can stay right in front of the computer and read away. Oh, by the way, the Best Picture I'm talking about was American Beauty.
When we started our enormous task of watching every Best Picture since 1928, we were scared. There were A LOT of movies we had never even heard of, much less seen. Of the movies we had seen, there were only a handful of them we owned or had seen more than once. American Beauty was one of the very few that we not only owned and seen more than once, but we actually watched it quite frequently. It is probably on my Top 5 list and not much further down on Kim's list. Suffice it to say, this movie was a comfort during our challenge, knowing that at some point we were going to choose it. For those who don't know (and you do know), American Beauty stars Kevin Spacey and is about a normal American family that is anything but normal. It is a great blend of humor, drama and suspense, while also throwing in a touch of bizarre. I gave it a perfect 5 without hesitation, and the much tougher critic Kim gave it a 4.875. That totals a very solid 9.875, one of the highest scores in our challenge.
And that brings us to our selections. Let me tell you, there was A LOT to choose from. Especially in the more recent years, we could have been looking at hundreds of movies released in any given year (if you were wondering, we did most of our research on the world wide web, but who doesn't these days?) We each could have picked at least 10-15 movies we wanted to watch. I'm sure if you looked at a list just from 1999, you would feel the same way. But we did each have to choose only one, and here is what we picked...
Adam: The Virgin Suicides
Kim: The Green Mile
My pick, The Virgin Suicides, was originally a 1993 novel that I had come across every now and then during my days at Barnes & Noble. In fact, my first year at B&N was 1998, so I'm sure the release of the film a year later increased the number of copies circulating through. I have never read the book or seen the film (Kim has never even heard of it), but I remember both were well received. There were plenty of movies that I had seen and liked from 1999, and in some years I will pick that kind of movie, but this year I'm rolling the dice and taking a chance. Results to follow.
Kim went in the direction of "seen and liked" movies this year, but had a tough decision between Fight Club and The Green Mile. Both movies she had, you guessed it, seen and liked. I have seen and liked them both as well. But ultimately, Kim went with John Coffey and the gang. It's a long one, but a goodie, so it should be a pleasant evening in front of the tube.
Alright, so that's all I have for tonight. Just one last thing as you all know. Which one is your favorite? American Beauty? Virgin Suicides? Green Mile? What would have been your 1999 selection? Go nuts and have fun with it! We'll post back soon!
When we started our enormous task of watching every Best Picture since 1928, we were scared. There were A LOT of movies we had never even heard of, much less seen. Of the movies we had seen, there were only a handful of them we owned or had seen more than once. American Beauty was one of the very few that we not only owned and seen more than once, but we actually watched it quite frequently. It is probably on my Top 5 list and not much further down on Kim's list. Suffice it to say, this movie was a comfort during our challenge, knowing that at some point we were going to choose it. For those who don't know (and you do know), American Beauty stars Kevin Spacey and is about a normal American family that is anything but normal. It is a great blend of humor, drama and suspense, while also throwing in a touch of bizarre. I gave it a perfect 5 without hesitation, and the much tougher critic Kim gave it a 4.875. That totals a very solid 9.875, one of the highest scores in our challenge.
And that brings us to our selections. Let me tell you, there was A LOT to choose from. Especially in the more recent years, we could have been looking at hundreds of movies released in any given year (if you were wondering, we did most of our research on the world wide web, but who doesn't these days?) We each could have picked at least 10-15 movies we wanted to watch. I'm sure if you looked at a list just from 1999, you would feel the same way. But we did each have to choose only one, and here is what we picked...
Adam: The Virgin Suicides
Kim: The Green Mile
My pick, The Virgin Suicides, was originally a 1993 novel that I had come across every now and then during my days at Barnes & Noble. In fact, my first year at B&N was 1998, so I'm sure the release of the film a year later increased the number of copies circulating through. I have never read the book or seen the film (Kim has never even heard of it), but I remember both were well received. There were plenty of movies that I had seen and liked from 1999, and in some years I will pick that kind of movie, but this year I'm rolling the dice and taking a chance. Results to follow.
Kim went in the direction of "seen and liked" movies this year, but had a tough decision between Fight Club and The Green Mile. Both movies she had, you guessed it, seen and liked. I have seen and liked them both as well. But ultimately, Kim went with John Coffey and the gang. It's a long one, but a goodie, so it should be a pleasant evening in front of the tube.
Alright, so that's all I have for tonight. Just one last thing as you all know. Which one is your favorite? American Beauty? Virgin Suicides? Green Mile? What would have been your 1999 selection? Go nuts and have fun with it! We'll post back soon!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
1955: Guys and Dolls and Rebels
Tonight I am flying solo, as my adorable wife is on the West Coast right now, enjoying zoo animals of all varieties. Thus it is I alone who is your tour guide into the deep dark unknown, known only as 1955. Without further adieu (and proceed with caution), here is the rundown...
As stated earlier, the winner this year was Marty, although Herb Stemple (played by John Turturro in Quiz Show) would try to tell you otherwise. I was trying to find the movie clip, but I'll do you one better with the actual footage of the famous scandal. Anyway, we loved Marty (Kim especially), so it was going to be hard to beat.
The first movie we watched was Kim's pick, Guys and Dolls. It starred Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra (both did a great job in this movie - and Brando can sing!). It was basically about these guys who just wanted to shoot craps all the time and make bets, so Brando bet Sinatra he could take this straight edge bible chick to Havana with him, and thus crazy events and a lot of singing and dancing ensue. It's a rock solid musical filled with laughs, classic tunes, and a warm-filled ending. It's like they say with books - a very easy read - this was a very easy watch.
And then there was my pick, Rebel Without a Cause. To give you a background, the actors who played the 3 main roles (James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo) all died tragically at ages way too young. In fact, James Dean was killed in a car crash one month before this film was released. That is especially eerie, considering the famous scene from this film is a wholesome, family friendly game of chicken off a cliff between Dean's character Jim Stark and some goon named Buzz. This movie was basically about this loner guy, played by Dean, who is really cool and tough but for some reason doesn't fit in with all the other cool and tough guys in school. He falls for Natalie Wood, who is basically the groupie of the tough and cool guys, and thus crazy events but no singing or dancing ensue. We both felt it was a good film, but it got a little cheezy and silly at times, and may be a bit overrated due to the tragedy that followed the stars of this film.
To tie things up short and sweet, neither Guys and Dolls or Rebel Without a Cause could quite live up to the Best Picture this year. Marty wins. Marty wins.
We've selected our next year, and it's a good one! Stay tuned.
As stated earlier, the winner this year was Marty, although Herb Stemple (played by John Turturro in Quiz Show) would try to tell you otherwise. I was trying to find the movie clip, but I'll do you one better with the actual footage of the famous scandal. Anyway, we loved Marty (Kim especially), so it was going to be hard to beat.
The first movie we watched was Kim's pick, Guys and Dolls. It starred Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra (both did a great job in this movie - and Brando can sing!). It was basically about these guys who just wanted to shoot craps all the time and make bets, so Brando bet Sinatra he could take this straight edge bible chick to Havana with him, and thus crazy events and a lot of singing and dancing ensue. It's a rock solid musical filled with laughs, classic tunes, and a warm-filled ending. It's like they say with books - a very easy read - this was a very easy watch.
And then there was my pick, Rebel Without a Cause. To give you a background, the actors who played the 3 main roles (James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo) all died tragically at ages way too young. In fact, James Dean was killed in a car crash one month before this film was released. That is especially eerie, considering the famous scene from this film is a wholesome, family friendly game of chicken off a cliff between Dean's character Jim Stark and some goon named Buzz. This movie was basically about this loner guy, played by Dean, who is really cool and tough but for some reason doesn't fit in with all the other cool and tough guys in school. He falls for Natalie Wood, who is basically the groupie of the tough and cool guys, and thus crazy events but no singing or dancing ensue. We both felt it was a good film, but it got a little cheezy and silly at times, and may be a bit overrated due to the tragedy that followed the stars of this film.
To tie things up short and sweet, neither Guys and Dolls or Rebel Without a Cause could quite live up to the Best Picture this year. Marty wins. Marty wins.
We've selected our next year, and it's a good one! Stay tuned.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Year #6 and Year #7: 1938 & 1955
By now, you're possibly wondering, why are there 2 years on this post? Or maybe you're not wondering at all. Or maybe you've already figured it out. Or maybe you don't really care and you just want me to get on with this post. Well for those of you who chose Choices A or D, today is your lucky day (sorry to those who chose Choice B, and if you chose Choice C, quit it you're freakin me out). Anyway, we first selected 1938. The Best Picture that year was an oldie and a goodie, called You Can't Take it With You. This was good ole Frank Capra pic, whom we loved throughout our 1st Movie Challenge (he also directed It Happened One Night which you will learn about at an unspecified later date). You Can't Take it With You scored a nifty 9.8 (I gave it a 5, Kim gave it a 4.8). It was a wonderful film starring James Stewart, filled with great laughs, very endearing characters and a nice overall message. As it turns out, no other film from that year will even get the chance to compete with this film, because this is what happened.....
Adam: PASS (Adam 2/10 used, Kim 0/10 used)
Kim: Bringing up Baby: VETOED (Adam 1/5 used, Kim 1/5 used)
So yeah...no movie this year. I'm not sure if Kim or I have mentioned this yet, but all my passes have been pre-selected, so basically when I picked all my movies, I left 10 years blank. Kim actually picked a movie every year, but will use passes if she decides she doesn't want to watch the movie she picked that year. In this case, she debated about using a pass, but ultimately went with Bringing up Baby, a comedy starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. I think she picked it because it has a leopard in it. It sounded like it had some potential, but I decided I really needed a break from all these old movies (our 3rd 30's year already) and I decided my interest level wasn't high enough to sit through it, so BAM i vetoed it.
So with no 1938 movie, we moved on to our next year. 17 years later, and we've landed in 1955. This was another good year for a Best Picture. Maaaaaaaaarty. Good stuff. This was about a fat, ugly dude named Marty (played brilliantly by Ernest Borgnine) who is like the nicest guy in the world but can't seem to get a date. Very cute and very funny, we both loved it. It scored a 9.4 (4.5 from me and 4.9 from Kim). This was the only movie in the whole challenge that Kim nearly broke into tears. That's how good it was. So, the 2 movies we picked for this year have a lot to live up to...
Adam: Rebel Without a Cause
Kim: Guys and Dolls
Yes, this could get interesting. I picked Rebel because of its cultural significance and whatnot, but really because it looks like a cool and tough film. It stars two of the more tragic figures in Hollywood history - James Dean and Natalie Wood. I'm really looking forward to it. Kim chose Guys and Dolls because she had worked on the play in high school and had a lot of fun with it, so she watched this movie way back when and really liked it then, so she wanted me to see it (she also plans on showing me her High School's production) It stars a singing Marlon Brando, which I'm sure will be fun.
Ok...We want to hear from you! 2 questions tonight....1) Favorite film: Marty, Rebel Without a Cause, or Guys and Dolls? 2) Were there any movies from 1938 that you may have enjoyed? (I know, it was a long time ago, so you may have never even SEEN a movie from 1938, but if you have, let us know!)
We will post back shortly after we've seen the films!
Adam: PASS (Adam 2/10 used, Kim 0/10 used)
Kim: Bringing up Baby: VETOED (Adam 1/5 used, Kim 1/5 used)
So yeah...no movie this year. I'm not sure if Kim or I have mentioned this yet, but all my passes have been pre-selected, so basically when I picked all my movies, I left 10 years blank. Kim actually picked a movie every year, but will use passes if she decides she doesn't want to watch the movie she picked that year. In this case, she debated about using a pass, but ultimately went with Bringing up Baby, a comedy starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. I think she picked it because it has a leopard in it. It sounded like it had some potential, but I decided I really needed a break from all these old movies (our 3rd 30's year already) and I decided my interest level wasn't high enough to sit through it, so BAM i vetoed it.
So with no 1938 movie, we moved on to our next year. 17 years later, and we've landed in 1955. This was another good year for a Best Picture. Maaaaaaaaarty. Good stuff. This was about a fat, ugly dude named Marty (played brilliantly by Ernest Borgnine) who is like the nicest guy in the world but can't seem to get a date. Very cute and very funny, we both loved it. It scored a 9.4 (4.5 from me and 4.9 from Kim). This was the only movie in the whole challenge that Kim nearly broke into tears. That's how good it was. So, the 2 movies we picked for this year have a lot to live up to...
Adam: Rebel Without a Cause
Kim: Guys and Dolls
Yes, this could get interesting. I picked Rebel because of its cultural significance and whatnot, but really because it looks like a cool and tough film. It stars two of the more tragic figures in Hollywood history - James Dean and Natalie Wood. I'm really looking forward to it. Kim chose Guys and Dolls because she had worked on the play in high school and had a lot of fun with it, so she watched this movie way back when and really liked it then, so she wanted me to see it (she also plans on showing me her High School's production) It stars a singing Marlon Brando, which I'm sure will be fun.
Ok...We want to hear from you! 2 questions tonight....1) Favorite film: Marty, Rebel Without a Cause, or Guys and Dolls? 2) Were there any movies from 1938 that you may have enjoyed? (I know, it was a long time ago, so you may have never even SEEN a movie from 1938, but if you have, let us know!)
We will post back shortly after we've seen the films!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
1968: Odd and Odder
Before I begin on our 2 selections from 1968, I forgot to give all you fine readers our overall score for Oliver! I gave it a 4, while Kim gave it a 4.275 (she's very specific in her scores hehe), totaling a very respectable, but not exceptional 8.275. OK, let's get to the picks!
The first movie we watched was Kim's pick, The Odd Couple. Kim has seen it before (and enjoys it thoroughly), but I had never seen it, thus I will give you my take on it. I thought this was a very clever, funny little film. Jack Lemmon (whom I love from the 1960s best Picture The Apartment) and Walter Mattheau had excellent chemistry. They bounced off each other like that old video game pong, which by the way since I'm such a nice guy can be played here . It had some good ole fashioned slap stick comedy, but it also contained sophisticated humor, which as you know I can truly appreciate. It may not have been your typical Best Picture type, but it was quality stuff.
Then we watched my film. Whew. 2001: A Space Odyssey. It was an odyssey alright. I had watched it in high school, but I think we skipped through scenes back then, so much of what we just watched was new to me. And Kim realized as well how little of this movie she had previously seen. But seriously, this movie needs an attached user guide or something. Certainly very interesting and completely ahead of its time (nice call by Kubrick - a moon landing one year before the apollo), but this movie is whacked. It's filled with crazy symbolism and hidden themes and practically zero explanation of anything. First you got the monkeys, and boom then you're on the moon, and wham then you're heading to Jupiter, and then kapow you're in this white room. It's like whoa. And in between all that, like practically nothing happens, but it's all still something. It's basically up for you to decide what everything means. We did enjoy the HAL 9000 - he was about as creepy as a monotoned small circular red light could be. So yeah, good times.
Oliver!, The Odd Couple and 2001 were all very very different kinds of movies. It's hard to say for sure which we enjoyed the most. But we're both picking The Odd Couple, and here is why. We were able to just sit back, relax and enjoy The Odd Couple. It was a nice, lighthearted comedy that didn't require much thought. Certainly, if you're in the mood for a big production Musical, go with Oliver! and if you're in the mood to be provoked/confused, 2001 is your choice for the night.
Well, we've selected our next movies - and there was a little bit of drama - so stay tuned!
The first movie we watched was Kim's pick, The Odd Couple. Kim has seen it before (and enjoys it thoroughly), but I had never seen it, thus I will give you my take on it. I thought this was a very clever, funny little film. Jack Lemmon (whom I love from the 1960s best Picture The Apartment) and Walter Mattheau had excellent chemistry. They bounced off each other like that old video game pong, which by the way since I'm such a nice guy can be played here . It had some good ole fashioned slap stick comedy, but it also contained sophisticated humor, which as you know I can truly appreciate. It may not have been your typical Best Picture type, but it was quality stuff.
Then we watched my film. Whew. 2001: A Space Odyssey. It was an odyssey alright. I had watched it in high school, but I think we skipped through scenes back then, so much of what we just watched was new to me. And Kim realized as well how little of this movie she had previously seen. But seriously, this movie needs an attached user guide or something. Certainly very interesting and completely ahead of its time (nice call by Kubrick - a moon landing one year before the apollo), but this movie is whacked. It's filled with crazy symbolism and hidden themes and practically zero explanation of anything. First you got the monkeys, and boom then you're on the moon, and wham then you're heading to Jupiter, and then kapow you're in this white room. It's like whoa. And in between all that, like practically nothing happens, but it's all still something. It's basically up for you to decide what everything means. We did enjoy the HAL 9000 - he was about as creepy as a monotoned small circular red light could be. So yeah, good times.
Oliver!, The Odd Couple and 2001 were all very very different kinds of movies. It's hard to say for sure which we enjoyed the most. But we're both picking The Odd Couple, and here is why. We were able to just sit back, relax and enjoy The Odd Couple. It was a nice, lighthearted comedy that didn't require much thought. Certainly, if you're in the mood for a big production Musical, go with Oliver! and if you're in the mood to be provoked/confused, 2001 is your choice for the night.
Well, we've selected our next movies - and there was a little bit of drama - so stay tuned!
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