Movie 101: Session 1

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I didn't have enough time to watch all the movies I wanted this weekend...but I did manage to watch three:

Saturday night I cuddled up with my puppy and watched A Clockwork Orange.

Sunday afternoon I hit the movie theaters to watch Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

Sunday night I say North By Northwest.

I will be giving my 2 cents on these movies during the entertainment segment today. I have a lot to say ;)

I did make a trip to Target and I picked up a lot more classic movies:

Dial M for Murder
Pretty In Pink
Lawrence of Arabia
and some weird space movies that Ladis swears people are into...I really hate space movies with aliens and such. But I'm willing to give it a shot.

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A Clockwork Orange is one of my favorite movies.

2001:A Space Odyssey is also a good one, space and aliens and all that.

Keep up the good work,

I still think a segment with Ana + Ben + Classic movies would be cool.

-Jan

by Scandinavian Chef on 10/06/2008 02:05:12 PM EST


2001 Space Odyssey is my boyfriend's absolute favorite movie...and he's been begging me to watch it forever. I guess it's time I give in.

by AnaKasparian on 10/06/2008 02:45:03 PM EST

[ Parent ]
with the pic of the HAL9000?

Some faves (some very very good, some very very bad, I love camp):

wild strawberries, the seventh seal, dr. strangelove,

tank girl, casablanca, barbed wire, krystal method,

citizen kane, the third man, butch cassidy and the

sundance kid, sullivan's travels, O' Brother Where Art

Thou, Miracle at Morgan's Creek, Akira, Ghost in the

Shell, Buckaroo Banzia, Magical Mystery Tour, Across the

Universe, Get Smart, Octopussy, From Russia with Love, 12

monkeys, A Boy and his Dog, Invasion of the Body

Snatchers, Invasion, Aliens, THX1138, V for Vendetta,

Frankenstien (Boris), Young Frankenstein, The Goonies,

the Big Lebowski, Stand By Me, Reno911!, Mad Max, Dazed

and Confused, Broken Flowers, Mystery Train, Donnie

Darko, Cashback, the Thin Blue line, heaven's gate,

Barbarella, Killer Clowns from Outer Space, Repo Man,

being John Malkovich, the maltese falcon, key largo, the

player, boogie nights, magnolia,

if you can find it, venice bound

by tiggerporn on 10/06/2008 04:42:17 PM EST

[ Parent ]
c'mon, out with your big list ;)

by desertpear on 10/06/2008 05:28:18 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Hint: the answer is no. Why start now?

by tiggerporn on 10/06/2008 05:34:27 PM EST

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Don't ever start editing yourself, tigger.

The blog would be a much poorer place.

by ProfRich on 10/06/2008 10:44:33 PM EST

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Except the occasional nudity in his posts sometimes comes very close to getting me fired.  Other than that, play on playa.  ;)

by Spencer on 10/06/2008 11:31:13 PM EST

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 that you forgot to include "Glitter".


the horror... the HORROR...

~pb

by eallgaier on 10/07/2008 01:19:28 AM EST

[ Parent ]
if you have some really good pot

by Chinese Democracy on 10/07/2008 01:40:15 AM EST

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Isn't that Xanadu?!?

by tiggerporn on 10/07/2008 10:37:41 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Not my favorite.  But there is one moment in it which is among my favorite in movies.

The line is, "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave."

Watch for it.

by ProfRich on 10/06/2008 05:14:27 PM EST

[ Parent ]
but I prefer the line, " I'm afraid. I'm afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going."

Oh, and I meant "Gates of Heaven" not Heaven's Gate. Gates of Heaven, great freaky documentary on pet cemetaries, heaven's gate, crazy scheme involving nike's and a suicide pact and ufo's.

by tiggerporn on 10/06/2008 05:33:12 PM EST

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I'm a huge fan of documentaries and was going to put together a list for Ana.  This would be one of my faves.  Errol Morris also did The Fog of War, which was awesome.  I can't believe another Gates of Heaven fan.  Dude! 

by desertpear on 10/06/2008 11:58:06 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Ya I got in a fight with Errol and it was the week after I got in the fist fight with G. Gordon Liddy so I developed this reputation as this drunk brawler which kind of stuck and was hard to shake. Errol spoke the week after Liddy,  after screening his movie and I interviewed him afterwards. I only really got in one good punch before the Liddy fight was broken up, and it just ended up being the two of us shouting at each other mostly, while they were holding us back. The only thing that really pissed me off about that was that some of my friends were apologizing to Liddy for me. Fuck that noise as we used to say.

But the argument with Morris was over phenomonology and the argument with Liddy was well, just cause he's a jackass. That was also how I met J. Hoberman, the film critic for the Village Voice who was also there interviewing him at the time, he used some of my notes. Great guy. I always considered him more the inspiration for the cartoon character the Critic than Roger Ebert. Pear you'd love the Angelica and the Film Forum and the Quad.

Another good documentary I saw recently was Canada House. I still have to see Fog of War. I liked Hoop Dreams, Woodstock, and Dogtown and the Z Boys. The Spaghetti West and the War Room are also favorites.

by tiggerporn on 10/08/2008 04:35:59 PM EST

[ Parent ]

At least outside of History Channel type stuff.

One that comes to mind is Hands on a Hard Body which I wouldn't exactly call great but its definitely hard to stop watching.   Its kind of a symphony of human stupidity all revolving around an $11,000 truck.

Again, I have so little doc experience I should probably just shut up but I saw When We Were Kings and thought that was bad ass.

by ProfRich on 10/08/2008 04:43:40 PM EST

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The Line King is another good one. They played that with the When We Were Kings as a double-feature. I haven't heard of Hands on Hard Body, but it sounds like a hardcore porn feature, but I'll keep an eye out for it. I do enjoy History Channel docs too, though some of them get a little "In Search Of..." from my point of view. The most recent I've seen along those lines is Trinity: The Story of the Atomic Bomb or something like that, narrated by none other than Star Trek's Captain Kirk William Shatner, which is a little distracting.

Fear of a Black Hat is another one of my favorites, though more in line with Spinal Tap.

But now this 11,000 dollar truck reminds me of that movie about the 20 dollar bill, does anyone know what I'm talking about, can't think of the title off the top of my head. Just googled it, duh, 20 bucks. Good film, not a doc though.

Some of my favorite documentaries though aren't really docs at all but art film, I love the Andy Warhol experimental stuff from the 60's, though some of it is tedious.

by tiggerporn on 10/08/2008 04:59:36 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Its a documentary of a radio station contest where listeners can win a truck (a cheap one).

They win by keeping their hand on the truck the longest.

by ProfRich on 10/08/2008 05:05:37 PM EST

[ Parent ]
and When We Were Kings, which was great, there are a lot of other documentaries you might really like.  These are just some of my top favorites.

To Be and To Have (French)

Baghdad ER
Wall
Grizzly Man
The Bridge
Little Dieter Needs to Fly
The Fog of War
Lake of Fire
Southern Comfort
Crumb
Gates of Heaven
The Last Days
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Waco:  The Rules of Engagement

and, you don't really understand the Holocaust until you have seen Shoah.

by desertpear on 10/08/2008 06:04:21 PM EST

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If you like Jean Luc Godard's Breathless you might also enjoy "From the Journals of Jean Seberg" which is narrated by the former enjoue.

I agree, Waco, Crumb, Gates of Heaven, need to see a bunch of those though, great list though thanks again Pear. And you should see the one about the truck if you haven't seen it, totally forgot about that one.

by tiggerporn on 10/08/2008 08:11:39 PM EST

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ya I actually really enjoyed that. kind of spaced there for a second, sometimes my brain needs a lil remindin.

by tiggerporn on 10/08/2008 08:04:56 PM EST

[ Parent ]

I think it will be fun to hear your comments on classic movies.  I know that some that were recommended are going to seem a bit slow because our brains are being wired more and more to pay attention only to the shortest sound bytes.  I think it is great that you are doing this.  Lawrence of Arabia was my all-time favorite movie as a young girl.  I'm sure I have seen it at least five times. It really deserves to be seen on a big screen though--some of the scenes just take your breath away in a theater.  Do you have any theaters that show old movies near you? 

Curious about the space movies Ladis got.  I love good sci-fi myself.  

by desertpear on 10/06/2008 02:08:03 PM EST


Ana, good science fiction makes you think.  Otherwise it's just an action movie, or a horror movie.  Don't throw out the bab^H^H^Hmovie with the bath^H^H^H^Hsetting.

by jarett on 10/06/2008 02:17:51 PM EST


that you're not likely to get elsewhere. I picked these because its unlikely that your friends have already recommended them. If you like Samurai films: The Blind Swordsman Twilight Samurai Musashi Miyamoto (Trilogy)

by hazmat on 10/06/2008 02:20:49 PM EST


sometimes i forget that I have the editor turned off!

The Blind Swordsman

Twilight Samurai

Musashi Miyamoto

by hazmat on 10/06/2008 02:22:43 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Seven Samurai?  You really couldn't go wrong with any Akira Kurosawa movie.

by Spencer on 10/06/2008 02:27:53 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Rashomon (the original Hoodwinked!)
Yojimbo,
High and Low,
Ran,
Stray Dog, Hidden Fortress,
Ikiru etc.

The best ones are the collaborations with Toshiro Mifune.

by Scandinavian Chef on 10/06/2008 03:47:47 PM EST

[ Parent ]
by the way, is the star of the Miyamoto trilogy.

by hazmat on 10/06/2008 04:19:08 PM EST

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Because although I agree that Ana should watch as many Kurosawa films as possible, these are easy to find and obvious picks. The ones I highlighted are just as good as Kurosawa's finest work (in my humble opinion!). I'm just singing the gospel of japanese cinema to anyone who will listen.

by hazmat on 10/06/2008 04:18:29 PM EST

[ Parent ]

It sucks that most of his movies are only available on Criterion Collection DVDs, which are outrageously expensive. 

And The Blind Swordsman (I assume you're talking about the Zatoichi films here) are also sort of a pain to find on DVD.  They're definitely worth tracking down though.

It's good to know that I'm not the only one who loves Japanese (and especially samurai) cinema.

by Spencer on 10/06/2008 04:43:48 PM EST

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I was lucky to work right next to The Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, where they would have entire months devoted to Japanese directors.  I went through a real Japanese movie phase.  Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujiro Ozu, Shohei Imamura, and Juzo Itami are great Japanese directors too.  But if I were to recommend a samurai movie, I think it would be Yojimbo and the sequel Sanjuro.  "Ran" is a gorgeous movie too, but better on the big screen.

Anyone like Takeshi Kitano?  I think "Sonatine" was one of my favorite gangster movies of all time.

by desertpear on 10/06/2008 05:36:24 PM EST

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but I'll add'em to my netflix list. thanks pear.

by hazmat on 10/06/2008 05:57:27 PM EST

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I saw the original version of Solaris. Great movie, but maybe a little slow-paced for modern audiences. That reminds me, one of the things that distinguishes these post-war japanese films is that they are paced like modern films. The japanese were decades ahead of their american counterparts.

by hazmat on 10/06/2008 06:00:07 PM EST

[ Parent ]

It was just alright for me, but I read a ton of rave reviews for it before I saw it, so I'm probably wrong.  Kitano was great in the Zatoichi remake though.

And yes, Yojimbo and Sanjuro are both great.  I haven't seen Ran yet, but it's on my to do list.

by Spencer on 10/06/2008 06:00:35 PM EST

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I'm not sure which version I saw. Its been a while now. I've also seen Kikujiro and Brother, both starring Kitano, but they were decent films. I wouldn't call them "must-see".

by hazmat on 10/06/2008 06:10:28 PM EST

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The Zatoichi you saw (with Kitano as the star) was a remake (sort of) of the original from the 60s.  The original star was Shintaro Katsu and there were 26 films in the series.  That's right... 26.  And honestly, they're all good.  It was even a TV show (which I haven't seen yet).

by Spencer on 10/06/2008 06:27:30 PM EST

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I ordered the first in the series.

by hazmat on 10/06/2008 09:48:31 PM EST

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I wish we lived close enough to have Turk movie nights ;(

by desertpear on 10/07/2008 12:00:10 AM EST

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was the star of Zatoichi.

by hazmat on 10/06/2008 06:02:09 PM EST

[ Parent ]
sean
portland
2trope.com

by sfinneganus on 10/07/2008 05:21:01 AM EST

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My 5th grade teacher told us the story as a weekly sit down, and then I saw the movie later in life.  English people are such great story tellers, that she did the movie great justice using only words.  It made watching the movie all the more fun.

Chris

by chrisandyasemin on 10/06/2008 02:20:58 PM EST


hope you read my blog about you...

anyway, I m sure ur puppy is excellent company but i think it would be better to cuddle up with me.  I tell funny jokes. But i wont tell them during the movie or anything cuz that would be annoying.  

haha... I am only partly kidding, but I am intrested in hearing what you have to say about these movies cuz I respect your opinion.  

 hugs and kisses xoxo 

 

 

 

by bridgetohowhere on 10/06/2008 02:31:22 PM EST


or you'll have Ana's boyfriend at your door ready to rumble.

by desertpear on 10/06/2008 02:35:56 PM EST

[ Parent ]
It was really sweet, and made me feel better about certain issues that have been bothering me. Thanks so much.

I also checked out fatawesome.com. Good stuff.

Ana

by AnaKasparian on 10/06/2008 02:47:19 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Hi Ana,

Hope you liked "Clockwork Orange" and "Lawrence of Arabia" movie from 2 of my favorite directors, Stanley Kuberick (My fav's Barry Lyndon & 2001) & David Lean (Doctor Zhivago, I think you would like that one Ana).

But I propose 2 great movies now we are in the electoral mood:

Primary Colors (Just saw it the other day, didn't remember it was sooo good!)

The Candidate (Robert Redford)

My 2€

JaimeH

by JaimeH on 10/06/2008 02:52:37 PM EST


I cringe every time I see the preview. And no, I'm not joking. I feel a little nauseous just writing the title.

PS---I wish you were more open to movies with guns, because Predator is such an awesome movie. The special effects hold up surprisingly well overall.

BONUS: You get to see two future governors long before they were elected.

by ihavenobias on 10/06/2008 02:56:33 PM EST


I had the same reaction to the chihuahua. 

by desertpear on 10/06/2008 04:10:51 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Predator is one of the best movies Arnold was in, I think Ana would be able to handle that movie since it falls more so in the sci-fi category and not so much bloody war ones.

RE: Beverly Hills Chihuahua...seriously you left your house and paid to see it??? I don't get it.

by MintieFresh on 10/06/2008 04:11:49 PM EST

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I'll explain why during the show.

by AnaKasparian on 10/06/2008 05:05:17 PM EST

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For another Kubrick recommendation, you should check out "The Shining" with Jack Nicholson.  Kubrick for the most part is great.  With the exception of Eyes Wide Shut.

by elimenez on 10/06/2008 08:13:45 PM EST


Though I seem to be the only one.

by Spencer on 10/06/2008 08:15:12 PM EST

[ Parent ]

I also relly liked Eyes Wide Shut.  I'm not sure why so many people didn't like it.  However, my favorite Kubrick movie is 2001, as others have said.  The book was also really good (RIP Arthur C Clarke).  I enjoy the trivia tidbit that Kubrick and Arthur Clarke wrote the screenplay and the novel simultaneously.  I do also love The Shining and the trivia tidbit that Stephen King hated his version of the story because he focused more on the main character going insane from isolation instead of the haunted house.  King loved the gay mini-series starring the mulleted guy from Wings. 

As for Hitchcock, N x NW is a good one.  You'll love Dial M For Murder.  Vertigo is pretty much considered his best work, but you have to like his stuff because it is long and slow. 

Hitchcock is great because of his world view he injected into each film.  You have a complacent protagonist who's world gets turned upside down by some event.  Along the way you get a femme fatale and an antagonist and through the protagonist's strength of character, he/she is able to pull themselves out of it. 

Then, of course you have the McGuffin.  That is some item in the movie that pretends to be important, but is a plot throwaway.  For instance, in The Birds, the birds are the McGuffin. 

I love Psycho because of the play on this theme.  In that movie, the protagonist isn't the woman because she gets killed halfway through.  The protagonist is actually the audience.  We are lulled into complacency by the McGuffin, the tale of the stolen money.  Our world is thrown for a loop by the unexpected killing of the woman  and we have to struggle from that point on to regin our composure through such a twisted tale. 

Sorry for rambling.

by jawill11 on 10/06/2008 08:55:10 PM EST

[ Parent ]

I think EYES WIDE SHUT is very under-appreciated and worthy of the master. People said it was outdated as though jealousy is a passe emotion nowadays... unfair. I love the final line delivered by Nicole Kidman just before the abrupt end cut.

by mr science on 10/06/2008 09:28:44 PM EST

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best lighting in a movie maybe ever

by sfinneganus on 10/08/2008 05:30:19 AM EST

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The Shining is one of the scariest movies I ever tried to watch, and I like gore and thrills.  I had to stop watching.  Sometimes those movies rear their ugly heads in the middle of the night when you are alone in your house.  Same with Psycho--slasher movies are great until you are a woman living by yourself!! 

by desertpear on 10/07/2008 12:03:10 AM EST

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Them.  It was great, especially in contrast with the current trend in horror movies where it's all cringe stuff and tons of gore (Hostel, Saw, etc.).  Genuinely terrifying in a real life sort of way.

Oh yeah, and The Shining was good too.  ;)

by Spencer on 10/07/2008 12:12:28 AM EST

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That one has been on my list for a while, but I'm too scared to watch it!!  I hear it is great though. 

by desertpear on 10/07/2008 01:20:06 AM EST

[ Parent ]

anything with a scary doll, puppet, manikin, or clown is also off limits to me.  "The only good clown is a dead clown" you know. 

Just looking at this reminded me of the horribly scary Twilight Zone episode in the 60s where the doll was sort of alive.  It made such a huge impression on me I've never forgotten it.

So no, I won't see May!!

Violence and gore = okay.  Thrillers = okay.  Horror = I can't do it!!  Plus, I have really elaborate dreams and don't need ultra-detailed and epic nightmares!

by desertpear on 10/07/2008 05:13:08 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Most under appreciated movie of last 20 years is

Prick Up Your Ears

A true must own

by ronito6b on 10/06/2008 08:59:37 PM EST


Am I the only one here who is sad that Pretty in Pink is now considered a "classic"?

Ana, if you are getting into Hitchcock, try out Shadow of a Doubt, Frenzy, and Notorious.  There are other great ones also, like Rear Window, Strangers on a Train, Marnie, and Vertigo.  

by jawill11 on 10/06/2008 09:02:14 PM EST


Noticeably missing from everyone's posts:

A Thousand Clowns 

Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies)

Waiting for Guffman

Jackie Brown

Hairspray

Battle Royale

Full Metal Jacket

Sin City

Footloose

Ringu (not The Ring, that sucked)

And I'm taking it for granted that Ana has seen Ghostbusters, E.T. and all three Back to the Future movies, but just in case.

by OneHitKill on 10/06/2008 10:26:48 PM EST


One day before I die, I plan to wear a gorgeous white blouse on a long distance train from New York to Chicago and sip a gibson in the dining car as the train enters a tunnel.

by Verified1 on 10/06/2008 11:39:43 PM EST


Don't forget the black pencil skirt. That chick was hot.

by AnaKasparian on 10/07/2008 12:19:23 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Don't let the guys razz you; I thought it was a good little segment to hear what you thought about those movies, but Cenk didn't give you any time ;(

There are probably a lot of young viewers to TYT out there that have never seen these movies either.

by desertpear on 10/08/2008 01:24:39 AM EST

[ Parent ]
all luc besson films.....no dubbed....only subtitled

.....and Nanook of the North

by sfinneganus on 10/07/2008 05:23:24 AM EST


dolomite
super fly

sean
portland

by sfinneganus on 10/07/2008 05:42:53 AM EST


for sake of being well rounded......like Class of Nukem High....Rocky Horror....

also The Omen, Caddyshack, The Exorcist

by sfinneganus on 10/08/2008 07:10:58 AM EST


...Army of Darkness, Akira, Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children...

and the greatest horrible piece of crap film ever made, Jingle All the Way.

by OneHitKill on 10/08/2008 11:35:35 AM EST

[ Parent ]

AKA Enigmagnetic

Most people might find this director relatively unknown and a bit of an outsider, but I dig Aronofsky.  I really like the movie Pi, I loved Requiem for a Dream as messed up as it is, but I even dug "The Fountain".  I must warn you if you do watch Requiem for a Dream, be prepared to never want to look at any sort of drug the same again. 

by elimenez on 10/08/2008 01:33:18 PM EST


The Fountain was very underrated.  He's a great director.

by Spencer on 10/08/2008 02:33:05 PM EST

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Ana - I'm not sure how to tell you this but ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You're hawt.

by Randomambusher on 10/09/2008 05:21:39 AM EST


There were already some good ones named.

-Holy Mountains

-Schindlers List

-Adaption

-Equilibrium

-Miss Smillas Feeling for Snow

-Das Leben der Anderen

-Million Dollar Baby

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by pascal3000 on 10/09/2008 03:22:08 PM EST


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