I contemplated putting this on my list, for the sheer zany liveliness of it all. It’s the last time that Bruce Willis seemed to be having fun on screen, and while parts of it grate (IF ONLY Prince had been cast as Ruby Rod), it remains a really fun little one-off feature. I’m gratified that nobody has tried to turn it into a franchise, despite the dense world-building and “chosen one” narrative on display.
TDOS Cabin by the Lake Movie Draft - DRAFT COMPLETED
- Thread starter VF21
- Start date
With my next pick, I choose:
The Lion King (1994)
Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/
Best opening scene in any movie ever! This movie has great music, lots of animal adventures, and a cool back story about royalty, betrayal, and father son connections.
The Lion King (1994)
Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/
Best opening scene in any movie ever! This movie has great music, lots of animal adventures, and a cool back story about royalty, betrayal, and father son connections.
*Shakes fist.
Not that I'm an aficionado, I just love the style of older movies. Speaking of... Two of my last four picks having to be from the 80s and 90s is really taking me out of my comfort zone. Thanks VF21.
The first eight rounds went exactly as I wanted, but the last four are going to be tough.
Not that I'm an aficionado, I just love the style of older movies. Speaking of... Two of my last four picks having to be from the 80s and 90s is really taking me out of my comfort zone. Thanks VF21.
The first eight rounds went exactly as I wanted, but the last four are going to be tough.
*Shakes fist.
Not that I'm an aficionado, I just love the style of older movies. Speaking of... Two of my last four picks having to be from the 80s and 90s is really taking me out of my comfort zone. Thanks VF21. The first eight rounds went exactly as I wanted, but the last four are going to be tough.
Not that I'm an aficionado, I just love the style of older movies. Speaking of... Two of my last four picks having to be from the 80s and 90s is really taking me out of my comfort zone. Thanks VF21.
The first eight rounds went exactly as I wanted, but the last four are going to be tough.
The Matrix is a philosophical film, as one would expect from the Wachowski brothers (today known as the Wachowski sisters). It is an excellent film, in my opinion, and a demonstration that certain films are better left without sequels, no matter how financially inticing the idea may be.
They should have left it as a one and done.
P.S. If you like their work, you should watch sense8 on Netflix.
They should have left it as a one and done.
P.S. If you like their work, you should watch sense8 on Netflix.
It looks like Joker pick is waitting for me again. Ok, so I'll select one of my less popular favorites.
Groundhog Day (1993)
IMDB Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_56
I always believed in self-improvement. So, this movie is my bible.
Groundhog Day (1993)
IMDB Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_56
I always believed in self-improvement. So, this movie is my bible.
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At the Anchorage airport to fly back to Sacramento. Quick selection and I’ll keep this moving:
Terminator 2: Judgment Day - 1991
This is some low hanging fruit, and one of my favorites. Definitely getting the expanded edition over the theatrical release.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103064/
One of my favorite films since it's release (despite Furlong as an actor in it), I've always loved Sarah Connors character and Linda Hamilton's portrayal of a "normal" woman pushed to lengths she never thought she'd have to go to in protecting her son. Arnie is having a lot more fun in this film as the original terminator. From wiki:
I think you will notice a trend here - I am a huge James Cameron fan (two Terminator movies, Aliens, Avatar, and others). He tries to give some depth to the characters you frequently don't see in other action flicks, and the movies are generally well balanced and fun to watch.
Sarah Connor: [narrating] Three billion human lives ended on August 29th, 1997. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war Judgment Day. They lived only to face a new nightmare: the war against the machines. The computer which controlled the machines, Skynet, sent two Terminators back through time. Their mission: to destroy the leader of the human resistance, John Connor, my son. The first Terminator was programmed to strike at me in the year 1984, before John was born. It failed. The second was set to strike at John himself when he was still a child. As before, the resistance was able to send a lone warrior, a protector for John. It was just a question of which one of them would reach him first.
The Terminator: In three years, Cyberdyne will become the largest supplier of military computer systems. All stealth bombers are upgraded with Cyberdyne computers, becoming fully unmanned. Afterwards, they fly with a perfect operational record. The Skynet Funding Bill is passed. The system goes online August 4th, 1997. Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. In a panic, they try to pull the plug.
Sarah Connor: Skynet fights back.
The Terminator: Yes. It launches its missiles against the targets in Russia.
John Connor: Why attack Russia? Aren't they our friends now?
The Terminator: Because Skynet knows that the Russian counterattack will eliminate its enemies over here.
Dr. Silberman (facility psychologist discussing Judgement Day with Sarah in prison): I'm sure it feels very real to you.
Sarah Connor: On August 29th, 1997, it's gonna feel pretty ****ing real to you too. Anybody not wearing 2 million sunblock is gonna have a real bad day. Get it?
Dr. Silberman: You broke my arm!
Sarah Connor: There are 215 bones in the human body. That's one.
John Connor: We've got company!... Police!
Sarah Connor: How many?
John Connor: Uh... all of 'em, I think.
Sarah Connor: [voiceover] Watching John with the machine, it was suddenly so clear. The terminator, would never stop. It would never leave him, and it would never hurt him, never shout at him, or get drunk and hit him, or say it was too busy to spend time with him. It would always be there. And it would die, to protect him. Of all the would-be fathers who came and went over the years, this thing, this machine, was the only one who measured up. In an insane world, it was the sanest choice.
[from Extended Special Edition ending]
Sarah Connor: [speaks into her recorder] August 29, 1997, came and went. Nothing much happened. Michael Jackson turned 40. There was no Judgment Day. People went to work as they always do. Laughed, complained, watched TV, made love. I wanted to run to through the street yelling to grab them all and say, "Every day from this day on is a gift. Use it well." Instead, I got drunk. That was 30 years ago. But the dark future which never came still exists for me. And it always will, like the traces of a dream. John fights the way differently than it was foretold. Here, on the battlefield of the Senate his weapons are common sense and hope.
Sarah's Granddaughter: [runs up to Sarah] Tie me, Grandma. Tie me!
Sarah Connor: How's that?
Sarah's Granddaughter: Thank you, Grandma.
Sarah Connor: The luxury of hope was given to me by the Terminator. Because if a machine can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day - 1991
This is some low hanging fruit, and one of my favorites. Definitely getting the expanded edition over the theatrical release.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103064/
One of my favorite films since it's release (despite Furlong as an actor in it), I've always loved Sarah Connors character and Linda Hamilton's portrayal of a "normal" woman pushed to lengths she never thought she'd have to go to in protecting her son. Arnie is having a lot more fun in this film as the original terminator. From wiki:
I think you will notice a trend here - I am a huge James Cameron fan (two Terminator movies, Aliens, Avatar, and others). He tries to give some depth to the characters you frequently don't see in other action flicks, and the movies are generally well balanced and fun to watch.
Sarah Connor: [narrating] Three billion human lives ended on August 29th, 1997. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war Judgment Day. They lived only to face a new nightmare: the war against the machines. The computer which controlled the machines, Skynet, sent two Terminators back through time. Their mission: to destroy the leader of the human resistance, John Connor, my son. The first Terminator was programmed to strike at me in the year 1984, before John was born. It failed. The second was set to strike at John himself when he was still a child. As before, the resistance was able to send a lone warrior, a protector for John. It was just a question of which one of them would reach him first.
The Terminator: In three years, Cyberdyne will become the largest supplier of military computer systems. All stealth bombers are upgraded with Cyberdyne computers, becoming fully unmanned. Afterwards, they fly with a perfect operational record. The Skynet Funding Bill is passed. The system goes online August 4th, 1997. Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. In a panic, they try to pull the plug.
Sarah Connor: Skynet fights back.
The Terminator: Yes. It launches its missiles against the targets in Russia.
John Connor: Why attack Russia? Aren't they our friends now?
The Terminator: Because Skynet knows that the Russian counterattack will eliminate its enemies over here.
Dr. Silberman (facility psychologist discussing Judgement Day with Sarah in prison): I'm sure it feels very real to you.
Sarah Connor: On August 29th, 1997, it's gonna feel pretty ****ing real to you too. Anybody not wearing 2 million sunblock is gonna have a real bad day. Get it?
Dr. Silberman: You broke my arm!
Sarah Connor: There are 215 bones in the human body. That's one.
John Connor: We've got company!... Police!
Sarah Connor: How many?
John Connor: Uh... all of 'em, I think.
Sarah Connor: [voiceover] Watching John with the machine, it was suddenly so clear. The terminator, would never stop. It would never leave him, and it would never hurt him, never shout at him, or get drunk and hit him, or say it was too busy to spend time with him. It would always be there. And it would die, to protect him. Of all the would-be fathers who came and went over the years, this thing, this machine, was the only one who measured up. In an insane world, it was the sanest choice.
[from Extended Special Edition ending]
Sarah Connor: [speaks into her recorder] August 29, 1997, came and went. Nothing much happened. Michael Jackson turned 40. There was no Judgment Day. People went to work as they always do. Laughed, complained, watched TV, made love. I wanted to run to through the street yelling to grab them all and say, "Every day from this day on is a gift. Use it well." Instead, I got drunk. That was 30 years ago. But the dark future which never came still exists for me. And it always will, like the traces of a dream. John fights the way differently than it was foretold. Here, on the battlefield of the Senate his weapons are common sense and hope.
Sarah's Granddaughter: [runs up to Sarah] Tie me, Grandma. Tie me!
Sarah Connor: How's that?
Sarah's Granddaughter: Thank you, Grandma.
Sarah Connor: The luxury of hope was given to me by the Terminator. Because if a machine can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too.
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National Lampoon's Vacation - 1983
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085995/
If you're heading up to the local Walmart and you call it Walley World, it's because of this film.
There's nothing spectacular about this film, other than it's just funny with lots of the kind of borderline inappropriate humor you'd expect from Chevy Chase. It was directed by Harold Ramis, from a screenplay (and short story) written by John Hughes.
Clark Griswold is everyman. He just wants to take his family on a cross-country vacation to WALLEY WORLD theme park. Just like everyman, Clark has his strengths and his weaknesses. The journey doesn't go smoothly, but nothing in Clark's world goes smoothly anyway. He has learned to live with disappointment but is resolved that this trip will be different - this is the vacation his children will remember all their lives and he will be viewed as the family patriarch who made it all possible. Once on the road, however, Clark realizes that once again things just aren't going to work out the way he planned. In the midst of his misery he spots a girl (Christie Brinkley) in a red Ferrari and his daydreams of her begin to consume him. What happens? More typical Chevy Chase humor.
I've watched this film numerous times. It never fails to remind me that it's the journey and not just the destination (something I've alluded to many times here on KF - now you know where it came from).
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085995/
If you're heading up to the local Walmart and you call it Walley World, it's because of this film.
There's nothing spectacular about this film, other than it's just funny with lots of the kind of borderline inappropriate humor you'd expect from Chevy Chase. It was directed by Harold Ramis, from a screenplay (and short story) written by John Hughes.
Clark Griswold is everyman. He just wants to take his family on a cross-country vacation to WALLEY WORLD theme park. Just like everyman, Clark has his strengths and his weaknesses. The journey doesn't go smoothly, but nothing in Clark's world goes smoothly anyway. He has learned to live with disappointment but is resolved that this trip will be different - this is the vacation his children will remember all their lives and he will be viewed as the family patriarch who made it all possible. Once on the road, however, Clark realizes that once again things just aren't going to work out the way he planned. In the midst of his misery he spots a girl (Christie Brinkley) in a red Ferrari and his daydreams of her begin to consume him. What happens? More typical Chevy Chase humor.
I've watched this film numerous times. It never fails to remind me that it's the journey and not just the destination (something I've alluded to many times here on KF - now you know where it came from).
For my 9th pick I select Terry Gilliam’s Fisher King (1991)
This is one of the films I can watch over and over and still be moved. The screen play by LaGravenese is truly a sweet and sour modern hero’s quest. Drawn from the Arthurian legend of Percival and the Fisher King, as well as Colldi’s original story of Pinocchio the film follows a radio shock jock named Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) who descends into suicidal depression after callous remarks he makes on the air end in a mass shooting. He befriends Parry (Robin Williams) a mentally ill homeless man who seeks to help as a form of atonement. This quest for redemption takes a dark and tortuous route that is more than Jack bargains for. The story is a brilliant blending of the two classic hero quests, attending to contemporary social problems. The brutally wounded main characters are flawed, vulnerable and yet heroic in their own ways.
Bridges is at his best creating a compelling character that despite his arrogance and self-centeredness it still some how vulnerable, capable of self-reflection and redemption. Williams is brilliant in a role that seems written for him. Williams comic style makes Parry fascinating to watch as he explains the mad world he inhabits and interacts with the world with comic optimism. As one of Williams earliest dramatic roles Parry is also deeply moving when his overwhelming pain is revealed to the audience with a level of sensitivity that truly displays the late genius’s wide range of talent. The supporting cast is equally good. Mercedes Ruel won best supporting actress for her portal of Ann, the woman who tries to help Jack get his life back on track. Then new comer Amada Plummer is at her quirkiest nailing down the socially inept Lydia, Parry’s love interest. But it is the late Michael Jeter who steals the show as the homeless cabaret singer. Were this a true comedy Jeter’s over the top rendition of Gypsy would still stand out, but this is no simple comedy and it is the painful pleading of Jeter’s homeless man that Jack cannot turn his back on in the end.
Terry Gillium brings his surreal view of the world into focus in selected scenes that help underscore the madness that haunts Parry. The details he peppers his scenes with make re-watching the film extra enjoyable as they add depth to the story. Pay attention to the posters in the video store and the news paper headlines near the end of the film. But it is his musical dance number in Grand Central Station that displays the utterly remarkable vision of the director.
SPOILER
After dozens of viewings and being a grown man, I still am brought to tears when Parry emerging from his coma is clearly remembering the murder of his wife that caused the fugue state he has been in and he asks Jack if it is ok to miss her. Having made some pretty costly mistakes in my own life I am equally moved when a desperate and distraught Jack longs to just pay the fine and go home rather than live with the crushing sense of responsibility for the lost lives that he can never shake. Some things we break can never be fixed nor forgotten. Some of our losses can never be replaced.
In the end this is a film about healing, hope, friendship and the artifice of social class and expectation that divide us and wall us off from other people and opportunities. This is a celebration of our differences and a challenge to think about what makes for success and failure. But mostly this is a song of compassion.
This is one of the films I can watch over and over and still be moved. The screen play by LaGravenese is truly a sweet and sour modern hero’s quest. Drawn from the Arthurian legend of Percival and the Fisher King, as well as Colldi’s original story of Pinocchio the film follows a radio shock jock named Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) who descends into suicidal depression after callous remarks he makes on the air end in a mass shooting. He befriends Parry (Robin Williams) a mentally ill homeless man who seeks to help as a form of atonement. This quest for redemption takes a dark and tortuous route that is more than Jack bargains for. The story is a brilliant blending of the two classic hero quests, attending to contemporary social problems. The brutally wounded main characters are flawed, vulnerable and yet heroic in their own ways.
Bridges is at his best creating a compelling character that despite his arrogance and self-centeredness it still some how vulnerable, capable of self-reflection and redemption. Williams is brilliant in a role that seems written for him. Williams comic style makes Parry fascinating to watch as he explains the mad world he inhabits and interacts with the world with comic optimism. As one of Williams earliest dramatic roles Parry is also deeply moving when his overwhelming pain is revealed to the audience with a level of sensitivity that truly displays the late genius’s wide range of talent. The supporting cast is equally good. Mercedes Ruel won best supporting actress for her portal of Ann, the woman who tries to help Jack get his life back on track. Then new comer Amada Plummer is at her quirkiest nailing down the socially inept Lydia, Parry’s love interest. But it is the late Michael Jeter who steals the show as the homeless cabaret singer. Were this a true comedy Jeter’s over the top rendition of Gypsy would still stand out, but this is no simple comedy and it is the painful pleading of Jeter’s homeless man that Jack cannot turn his back on in the end.
Terry Gillium brings his surreal view of the world into focus in selected scenes that help underscore the madness that haunts Parry. The details he peppers his scenes with make re-watching the film extra enjoyable as they add depth to the story. Pay attention to the posters in the video store and the news paper headlines near the end of the film. But it is his musical dance number in Grand Central Station that displays the utterly remarkable vision of the director.
SPOILER
After dozens of viewings and being a grown man, I still am brought to tears when Parry emerging from his coma is clearly remembering the murder of his wife that caused the fugue state he has been in and he asks Jack if it is ok to miss her. Having made some pretty costly mistakes in my own life I am equally moved when a desperate and distraught Jack longs to just pay the fine and go home rather than live with the crushing sense of responsibility for the lost lives that he can never shake. Some things we break can never be fixed nor forgotten. Some of our losses can never be replaced.
In the end this is a film about healing, hope, friendship and the artifice of social class and expectation that divide us and wall us off from other people and opportunities. This is a celebration of our differences and a challenge to think about what makes for success and failure. But mostly this is a song of compassion.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie. It lost out to Blue for my second '90s slot (I'm holding myself to stricter rules than VF is holding me to) but was definitely under intense consideration. The dance scene that you mention in Grand Central Station is one of those amazing moments in cinema probably never to be equalled.
But for me the high point is the eponymous tale of the Fisher King. "I only knew you were thirsty" gets me, every time. Every time.
But for me the high point is the eponymous tale of the Fisher King. "I only knew you were thirsty" gets me, every time. Every time.
With my next pick, it'll be another one of Mr Kurosawa's classic...
Yojimbo (1961)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/
More to come...
Yojimbo (1961)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/
More to come...
The unbearable lightness of being. 1988.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096332/
Some context for this pick. The other night I watched a movie that, although good, had a fair amount of pain in it. And maybe I am tired of watching intense pain. Yesterday I also read an article about politics, which I hate (so why read it???). In these moments it's nice to access some of the concepts and perspectives from the unbearable lightness of being. Also, not that it influenced my pick, but perhaps the book and/ or movie is worth considering before getting upset about a front office move/ summer league performance/ lack thereof (not sure it was worth going there??)
Will msg now.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096332/
Some context for this pick. The other night I watched a movie that, although good, had a fair amount of pain in it. And maybe I am tired of watching intense pain. Yesterday I also read an article about politics, which I hate (so why read it???). In these moments it's nice to access some of the concepts and perspectives from the unbearable lightness of being. Also, not that it influenced my pick, but perhaps the book and/ or movie is worth considering before getting upset about a front office move/ summer league performance/ lack thereof (not sure it was worth going there??)
Will msg now.
Picking "in absentia," on behalf of @hrdboild:
With the 7th pick of the ninth round (135th overall)...
___I'll be brief with this one. It takes awhile to get going , but once we've met our four main characters and the plot is in motion its a cathartic burst of adrenaline right through to the end. William Friedkin had the misfortune of opening the most expensive film of his career mere weeks after the box office smashing success that was Star Wars and as a result this gritty, confident remake of a French classic slipped into history mostly unseen until fairly recently when its begun to make a comeback as a cult suspense thriller. It wouldn't make sense to call these characters heroes as great lengths are made to establish just what terrible people they are and yet I find myself rooting for them anyway simply because the villain of the piece is fate and fate is far crueler in its callous disregard for the struggle of survival than any of them. There is one action set piece in particular which may be the single greatest suspense sequence I've ever seen. You'll know it when you see it. Imagine the worst possible "everything goes wrong" nightmare version of trying to help a friend parallel park their car in the rain. Friedkin was also one of the first to the synth party by selecting German band Tangerine Dream to compose the soundtrack. When you hear it you'll swear this movie was made in the 80s!
Musical choice: Tangerine Dream -- Betrayal
Message sent to @whitechocolate
With the 7th pick of the ninth round (135th overall)...
Sorcerer (1977) -- William Friedkin / Adventure Thriller
Ack... Even my poster listed movies that haven't been picked yet!
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076740/
Ack... Even my poster listed movies that haven't been picked yet!
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076740/
___I'll be brief with this one. It takes awhile to get going , but once we've met our four main characters and the plot is in motion its a cathartic burst of adrenaline right through to the end. William Friedkin had the misfortune of opening the most expensive film of his career mere weeks after the box office smashing success that was Star Wars and as a result this gritty, confident remake of a French classic slipped into history mostly unseen until fairly recently when its begun to make a comeback as a cult suspense thriller. It wouldn't make sense to call these characters heroes as great lengths are made to establish just what terrible people they are and yet I find myself rooting for them anyway simply because the villain of the piece is fate and fate is far crueler in its callous disregard for the struggle of survival than any of them. There is one action set piece in particular which may be the single greatest suspense sequence I've ever seen. You'll know it when you see it. Imagine the worst possible "everything goes wrong" nightmare version of trying to help a friend parallel park their car in the rain. Friedkin was also one of the first to the synth party by selecting German band Tangerine Dream to compose the soundtrack. When you hear it you'll swear this movie was made in the 80s!
Musical choice: Tangerine Dream -- Betrayal
Message sent to @whitechocolate
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Re-Animator (1985), Stuart Gordon
Great writing? Nope.
Outstanding directing? Nuh-uh.
Superb acting? Not even close.
Amusingly flawed? Check.
Twisted sense of humor? And then some.
Awesome, gory practical effects? Heck to the yes.
Maybe I'm selling this film short. I wouldn't change a thing about the writing, directing, or acting. Everything goes together wonderfully. Re-Animator is my perfect '80s flick. For me the '80s are all about camp, gore, and practical effects. I can watch even a bad '80s horror flick any day of the week, but this film rises well above those. Everything that makes this movie great gets ramped up as the movie goes on, as will the amount of fun those viewing it are having. I highly recommend this film to any fan of horror, gore, and cult movies.
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Fantasia (1940), Produced by Walt Disney
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032455/
Walt Disney is best known for heart-warming children’s tales but one of its greatest achievements is an arty, abstract creation set to classical music. Fantasia is a series of eight animated segments inspired by music conducted by Leopold Stokowski and played by the Philadelphia Orchestra. The most famous segment is the third, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, but Fantasia is much more than that. It begins with Bach’s Toccata and Fugue, the orchestra lit under multi-coloured lights, and moves through Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Beethoven. This is a bold work that seeks to educate its audience about classical music, but it is also playful and delightfully imaginative as one would expect from a Walt Disney film.
As soon as this draft started I knew I would pick at least one animated film. I am pleased it is the one topping my shortlist.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032455/
Walt Disney is best known for heart-warming children’s tales but one of its greatest achievements is an arty, abstract creation set to classical music. Fantasia is a series of eight animated segments inspired by music conducted by Leopold Stokowski and played by the Philadelphia Orchestra. The most famous segment is the third, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, but Fantasia is much more than that. It begins with Bach’s Toccata and Fugue, the orchestra lit under multi-coloured lights, and moves through Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Beethoven. This is a bold work that seeks to educate its audience about classical music, but it is also playful and delightfully imaginative as one would expect from a Walt Disney film.
As soon as this draft started I knew I would pick at least one animated film. I am pleased it is the one topping my shortlist.
Monty Python's Life of Brian, 1979, Terry Jones
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079470/
I knew from the start that the '70s were going to be the toughest decade in this draft for me, and with Star Wars going #1 overall (because of course it did) I was worried that I might have to end up picking among films that are critically-acclaimed - and even good - but that I didn't really want to watch over and over. With Life of Brian, I've actually got a film that stands up to repeated viewings, simply because it's the Monty Python troupe. How can you not love it?
The interesting thing about Life of Brian is that it is easily the best-plotted of all of their feature films. Holy Grail is an absolute classic, but in some ways it feels a lot more like a bunch of silliness strung together than a proper film. Life of Brian holds together a bit better as it recounts Brian's life, which parallels that of Jesus from his birth in a (nearby) manger through political rabblerousing and the development of a religious following, to persecution and crucifixion by the Romans and along the way it manages to poke fun at the whole thing. It's cheesy, but as we all know: "Blessed are the cheesemakers".
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079470/
I knew from the start that the '70s were going to be the toughest decade in this draft for me, and with Star Wars going #1 overall (because of course it did) I was worried that I might have to end up picking among films that are critically-acclaimed - and even good - but that I didn't really want to watch over and over. With Life of Brian, I've actually got a film that stands up to repeated viewings, simply because it's the Monty Python troupe. How can you not love it?
The interesting thing about Life of Brian is that it is easily the best-plotted of all of their feature films. Holy Grail is an absolute classic, but in some ways it feels a lot more like a bunch of silliness strung together than a proper film. Life of Brian holds together a bit better as it recounts Brian's life, which parallels that of Jesus from his birth in a (nearby) manger through political rabblerousing and the development of a religious following, to persecution and crucifixion by the Romans and along the way it manages to poke fun at the whole thing. It's cheesy, but as we all know: "Blessed are the cheesemakers".
I’m not a huge fan, either. I don’t think it’s aged particularly well. But I was likewise surprised to see it last this long. I mean, Tarkovsky’s Solaris came off the board before The Matrix did! Y’all are making me fall in love with KF.com again.
With the 134th pick in the TDOS Cabin by the Lake draft, I select...
Arrival (2016):
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Dir. of Photography: Bradford Young
Writer(s): Eric Heisserer, Ted Chiang
Score: Jóhann Jóhannsson
Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker
Genre(s): Science fiction, drama, mystery
Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes
IMDb Entry: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543164/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Arrival is a lovely and longingly-rendered film about language and its limits, as well as the circuitous nature of loss. It's the second film by Denis Villeneuve that I've taken in this draft, after Blade Runner 2049, and it's not difficult to see why Villeneuve has risen in stature as a master of cerebral filmmaking. Like Close Encounters of the Third Kind before it, Arrival is an alien invasion film in which violence and war are not central to the plot. This film is instead about struggling to bridge the communication gap between intelligent species. In doing so, the characters experience their own humanity in new and unexpected ways. The very ideas of love and loss are reconfigured . Arrival is a beautifully haunting production, accompanied by Jóhann Jóhannsson's tremendous score. In light of Jóhannsson's passing in February, that score takes on even greater weight and significance. It's one of my favorite pieces of music of the last decade, with or without the film attached to it.
PM sent to @Sluggah.
Arrival (2016):
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Dir. of Photography: Bradford Young
Writer(s): Eric Heisserer, Ted Chiang
Score: Jóhann Jóhannsson
Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker
Genre(s): Science fiction, drama, mystery
Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes
IMDb Entry: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543164/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Arrival is a lovely and longingly-rendered film about language and its limits, as well as the circuitous nature of loss. It's the second film by Denis Villeneuve that I've taken in this draft, after Blade Runner 2049, and it's not difficult to see why Villeneuve has risen in stature as a master of cerebral filmmaking. Like Close Encounters of the Third Kind before it, Arrival is an alien invasion film in which violence and war are not central to the plot. This film is instead about struggling to bridge the communication gap between intelligent species. In doing so, the characters experience their own humanity in new and unexpected ways. The very ideas of love and loss are reconfigured . Arrival is a beautifully haunting production, accompanied by Jóhann Jóhannsson's tremendous score. In light of Jóhannsson's passing in February, that score takes on even greater weight and significance. It's one of my favorite pieces of music of the last decade, with or without the film attached to it.
PM sent to @Sluggah.
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I'm honored, if a little anxious.
Personally shown Pilgrim to a variety of people with mixed results. Common critiques: too weird, too spastic, or too much Michael Cera. Valid, but to me ultimately irrelevant.
Regardless of where you end up landing on the Pilgrim spectrum, glad you gave it a chance because of little old me.
Personally shown Pilgrim to a variety of people with mixed results. Common critiques: too weird, too spastic, or too much Michael Cera. Valid, but to me ultimately irrelevant.
Regardless of where you end up landing on the Pilgrim spectrum, glad you gave it a chance because of little old me.