2020 Shelter in Place Alphabet Movie Draft - BONUS ROUNDS

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
To fill my “H” column in the alphabetical movie draft, I select:



The Hunt For Red October (1990)

Directed by John McTiernan

Starring Alec Baldwin, Sean Connery, Scott Glenn

Trailer

Only two years after killing it with Die Hard, John McTiernan came back with another endlessly rewatchable thriller, this time on a submarine! A Soviet submarine captain is in the process of defecting with a state-of-the-art boat, and to prevent the Americans from getting their hands on her, the Soviets tell the U.S. that the captain has gone rogue and enlist their help to sink her before she can launch her nukes against the eastern seaboard. But one CIA analyst chasing a sneaking suspicion is trying to buy time...

The Hunt For Red October is the first of several movies based on the books of Tom Clancy, and let's face it, is the best submarine movie ever made (sorry, Redacted!) and likely that ever will be made. There is no reason to make another submarine movie. John McTiernan already made that one.

Andrei, you've lost ANOTHER submarine?
 
E = Edward Scissorhands (1990)



Tim Burton is a master in making weird movies cool. This one will be a nice Halloween or Christmas flick, and scratch an itch for quirky. I like Edward's gentleness, and it shows that you can't judge a book by its cover.

P.S.: The suburbs sound terrifying!

This is one of Tim Burton's most powerful movies. Though the title-character seems strange he represents the goodness in the world and what can happen when society just doesn't accept difference. The Gothic look of the castle, combined with the glorious colour of suburbia creates a strong contrast and shows things may not be as they seem. Edward comes from the dark and scary castle but is gentle, kind and loving, the place he wants to be accepted into is the colourful suburbia, which is backstabbing, vicious and evil. This story shows the betrayal of a person who desperately wants to help and to love but does not realise he is being used. The only people that seem to understand him are the wonderful Peg Boggs (played brilliantly by Dianne Wiest) and the beautiful Kim (played superbly by Winona Ryder). Tim Burton has created yet another beautiful fairy tale to captivate adults and children alike. Johnny Depp shows his great talent as an actor and Danny Elfman's music for the movie is some of the most beautiful you're ever likely to hear. A great movie for Christmas and all year round, and while it is a classic story it also deals with the prejudices of society, friendship, family and love and I advise anyone who hasn't seen it to see it, it is an experience well worth it and a movie you'll never forget.
Link #1
Link #2
Link #3

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099487/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
 
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The Amelie pick bums me out. Means I have to scramble for a new 'A' representative.

Anyway, after selecting a pair of high-brow, sophisticated, subtle comedies ('dramedies' if we're being pedantic), I think I'm about to blow all my street cred in the snobbier circles of cinema.

I'm taking a dive into a notoriously crass and crude studio that's produced three, maybe four if I'm being generous, quality comedies of its 40 major release catalogue.

I'll have to find a way to class this up a bit. So what says class and high taste more than a poster of my next pick as done by 90s sensation and Sacramento's own, Painter of Light, the late Mr. William Thomas Kinkade III (esquire):

N is for ...

1590902384501.jpg

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

N could just as easily be for Nostalgia I suppose, as this might be the film I have seen more than any other in my lifetime. It has been a part of my family's Thanksgiving and Christmas traditions for at least 20 years, if not closer to 30. We could likely watch the film on mute and I'd be able to recite every line. Possibly even sing the music cues.

This is not done ironically, and while I do not hold the National Lampoon franchise in high esteem, I honestly think this film expertly captures an essence within the holidays in the American suburbs: the ridiculous, over-the-top chaos the ensues when trying to re-capture memories of your own childhood that are invariably heightened to impossible levels. Chevy Chase's Clark W. Griswold is the every-man man-child in the sisyphean pursuit to possess again what never truly was. But his earnestness in that pursuit is so endearing you can't help but smile as he trudges on past every mishap and obstacle until the film's final line "I did it."

And you know, honestly, from an examination of the craft ... it's actually fairly elegant with beautiful call-backs and meaningful exposition throughout. Really not a single wasted scene. Every element of the immensly quotable dialogue or Chase's slapstick moments, further establishes character relationships, roles, and driving motivations, and build the narrative into the final payoff, where all the chaos appears completely earned, making sense of the nonsensical.

... but what am I doing? This isn't a high-art indie dramedy with heart and a message. The most enduring image from this movie is Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie in a bathrobe emptying a chemical toilet into a storm drain with the accompany sounds of a tuba bellowing out Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Get outta here cinema snobs. Nothing to see here. Merry Christmas. (Crapper) was full.

Hallelujah. Holy (crap). Where's the Tylenol?
 
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Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

N could just as easily be for Nostalgia I suppose, as this might be the film I have seen more than any other in my lifetime. It has been a part of my family's Thanksgiving and Christmas traditions for at least 20 years, if not closer to 30. We could likely watch the film on mute and I'd be able to recite every line. Possibly even sing the music cues.
Just last night I zipped right past this while skimming the guide looking for movies to DVR. I've seen two films in the franchise, but I don't think I've ever seen this one. You sold me on a two-hour commitment.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
Just last night I zipped right past this while skimming the guide looking for movies to DVR. I've seen two films in the franchise, but I don't think I've ever seen this one. You sold me on a two-hour commitment.
This was my "N" movie, so I'm going to dig into backups now.

I'm surprised you've never seen this one, Captain. My favorite of the bunch.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Just last night I zipped right past this while skimming the guide looking for movies to DVR. I've seen two films in the franchise, but I don't think I've ever seen this one. You sold me on a two-hour commitment.
It wasn't my cup of tea, but I did like the original. I'm not a big fan of over the top, or slapstick comedy, so pay no attention to me. I'm more of a dialogue comedy guy...
 
With my sixth pick in the Shelter in Place Alphabet Movie Draft, I will make use of the letter K to select:

Knives Out (2019):



Director: Rian Johnson
Dir. of Photography: Steve Yedlin
Writer(s): Rian Johnson
Score: Nathan Johnson
Cast: Ana de Armas, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Toni Colette, Don Johnson
Genre(s): Mystery, crime, comedy
Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes

IMDb Entry: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8946378/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

I agonized over which of two films to select for the letter k. Oddly enough, both of my options were tightly-plotted, twisty, witty whodunnits by strong writer-directors that crackle with intensity and hilarity in equal measure. Ultimately, I allowed recency bias to aid me in the selection of a film that represented my favorite moviegoing experience of last year.

Rian Johnson's Knives Out is an anachronism of a sort. Traditional "murder mysteries" aren't exactly in fashion in Hollywood these days. But then again, Knives Out isn't really a traditional murder mystery, though it certainly resembles one. There is a large, distinct mansion. There is a sympathetic victim. There is a conventional murder weapon. There is an enigmatic detective. Johnson is an admitted fan of the works of Agatha Christie, and novels like Murder on the Orient Express were clearly a huge influence on the plotting of this film. But at every stage of the mystery's unfolding in Knives Out, an element that at first appears to fit neatly within the confines of a traditional murder mystery is flipped on its head to reveal an utterly subverted trope. This is one of Rian Johnson's gifts as a writer and director. He is a movie magician who keeps the viewer so intently focused on what the left hand is doing that they fail to witness what has occurred with the right.

Knives Out is a bit difficult to discuss because of how engagingly knotted its story actually is. Unfortunately, to dwell on "what it's about" is to venture directly into spoiler territory, and I would rather not f*** up the fun for future first-time viewers. It's not usually my prerogative to fret about such things. Honestly, I am a moviegoer who gravitates toward film experiences that are not overly concerned with plot. I am generally impervious to spoilers myself, because my interests as a lover of film are usually more geared towards form, and towards tone and texture, than towards plot. I suppose that has something to do with my predilections as a writer. Most scripts aren't terribly original or engaging, in my opinion. Nor are most plot "twists." And most of the conditions that result in bland scripts and tortured twists are just the difficult realities of shepherding forward projects in Hollywood that don't conform to the major studios' understanding of what is likely to earn a profit. But with Knives Out, Rian Johnson managed to craft a vibrant and original script that smuggles a biting and relevant social commentary into a classically-oriented genre tradition.

Elsewhere, the cast of Knives Out, as with Heat and Glengarry Glen Ross, is just a murderer's row of talent. I mean, Jesus, look at that cast list! It's a firecracker of an ensemble, invested in the stakes of the film and wildly magnetic. Among them is Ana de Armas, who is wonderful and disarming as an in-home nurse caught up in the curdled squabbling of the wealthy family whom she is employed by. Another highlight is Chris Evans, who sheds his persona as the lily white Captain America, trading in the indestructible shield and All-American goodness for a cable knit sweater and an entitled, smarmy attitude. It's an absolute joy to witness Evans operating at Peak A**hole™.

Then there's Daniel Craig's performance as Benoit Blanc, a private detective styled after Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. Craig is incredibly effective in the role, lurking around the edges of the film's central mystery with confident, leisurely purpose. He also makes the extraordinarily strange acting choice of adopting a jowly Southern-fried accent, to which I initially cocked my head and raised an eyebrow. But then Blanc's measured Foghorn Leghorn drawl started to grow on me. Then it began to wedge itself into my brain. Now I find myself regularly reciting Blanc's doughnut hole speech in as close an approximation to his accent as possible (NOTE: For first-time viewers, this scene spoils nothing of the plot, but is best appreciated within the context of the film):


That Rian Johnson walked out on this particular ledge with Craig, trusting him enough to develop the character's eccentricities, is a testament to Johnson's strengths as a director. He has a writerly sensibility that is steeped in metaphor, in contrast, in rattling audience expectation. He's also unafraid of setting aside what his pen has dictated to accommodate the innovations of the actors who occupy the roles that he has written. Johnson specifically wrote Benoit Blanc for Daniel Craig, but I don't think even he dared to imagine how Craig would approach the role. God bless them both.

Beyond the performances of his cast, Johnson proves once again that he is a consummate visual stylist. He famously directed three episodes of the television show Breaking Bad: "The Fly," "Fifty-One," and "Ozymandias." These were three of the best episodes in the series, due in no small part to Johnson's visual flair, and the metaphorical weight that he assigns to the images in his work. This was true of his venture into the Star Wars universe, as well, which was a remarkable aesthetic feat considering the obligations and expectations associated with that franchise. And it's certainly true of Knives Out, as well, which is a beautiful film on top of being so well-written. Working with DoP and frequent collaborator Steve Yedlin, Knives Out represents a stylish but unshowy kind of cinematography. The camera moves with great interest, stalking across the faces of its characters as if to interrogate them, and roving through the mansion that serves as the murder scene. That house is itself an outsized character in a cast filled with outsized characters. What a location to shoot at!

Knives Out cost $40 million to make, and earned just shy of $310 million at the global box office. It functions as proof that audiences are starved for modestly-budgeted non-franchise films for adults. There is a market for films like these. Studios needn't invest every last dollar into capes and cowls and lightsabers and blasters. Rian Johnson himself has waded into that territory, but I cannot tell you how refreshing it was to see one of my favorite directors return to an original project. I can't recommend this movie enough. For the uninitiated, it will be streaming on Amazon Prime on June 12th.









 
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To fill my “H” column in the alphabetical movie draft, I select:



The Hunt For Red October (1990)

Directed by John McTiernan

Starring Alec Baldwin, Sean Connery, Scott Glenn

Trailer

Only two years after killing it with Die Hard, John McTiernan came back with another endlessly rewatchable thriller, this time on a submarine! A Soviet submarine captain is in the process of defecting with a state-of-the-art boat, and to prevent the Americans from getting their hands on her, the Soviets tell the U.S. that the captain has gone rogue and enlist their help to sink her before she can launch her nukes against the eastern seaboard. But one CIA analyst chasing a sneaking suspicion is trying to buy time...

The Hunt For Red October is the first of several movies based on the books of Tom Clancy, and let's face it, is the best submarine movie ever made (sorry, Redacted!) and likely that ever will be made. There is no reason to make another submarine movie. John McTiernan already made that one.

Andrei, you've lost ANOTHER submarine?
My favorite bit of trivia about The Hunt for Red October is that the distinctive hairstyle of Sean Connery's Marko Ramius is actually a hairpiece! Damn thing cost $20,000 to make!
 
With my sixth pick in the Shelter in Place Alphabet Movie Draft, I will make use of the letter K to select:

Knives Out (2019):



Director: Rian Johnson
Dir. of Photography: Steve Yedlin
Writer(s): Rian Johnson
Score: Nathan Johnson
Cast: Ana de Armas, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Toni Colette, Don Johnson
Genre(s): Mystery, crime, comedy
Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes

IMDb Entry: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8946378/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

I agonized over which of two films to select for the letter k. Oddly enough, both of my options were tightly-plotted, twisty, witty whodunnits by strong writer-directors that crackle with intensity and hilarity in equal measure. Ultimately, I allowed recency bias to aid me in the selection of a film that represented my favorite moviegoing experience of last year.

Rian Johnson's Knives Out is an anachronism of a sort. Traditional "murder mysteries" aren't exactly in fashion in Hollywood these days. But then again, Knives Out isn't really a traditional murder mystery, though it certainly resembles one. There is a large, distinct mansion. There is a sympathetic victim. There is a conventional murder weapon. There is an enigmatic detective. Johnson is an admitted fan of the works of Agatha Christie, and novels like Murder on the Orient Express were clearly a huge influence on the plotting of this film. But at every stage of the mystery's unfolding in Knives Out, an element that at first appears to fit neatly within the confines of a traditional murder mystery is flipped on its head to reveal an utterly subverted trope. This is one of Rian Johnson's gifts as a writer and director. He is a movie magician who keeps the viewer so intently focused on what the left hand is doing that they fail to witness what has occurred with the right.

Knives Out is a bit difficult to discuss because of how engagingly knotted its story actually is. Unfortunately, to dwell on "what it's about" is to venture directly into spoiler territory, and I would rather not f*** up the fun for future first-time viewers. It's not usually my prerogative to fret about such things. Honestly, I am a moviegoer who gravitates toward film experiences that are not overly-concerned with plot. I am generally impervious to spoilers myself, because my interests as a lover of film are usually more geared towards form, and towards tone and texture, than towards plot. I suppose that has something to do with my predilections as a writer. Most scripts aren't terribly original or engaging, in my opinion. Nor are most plot "twists." And most of the conditions that result in bland scripts and tortured twists has to do with the difficulties of shepherding forward projects in Hollywood that don't conform to the major studios' understanding of what is likely to earn a profit. But with Knives Out, Rian Johnson managed to craft a vibrant and original script that smuggles a biting contemporary social commentary into a classically-oriented genre tradition.

Elsewhere, the cast of Knives Out, as with Heat and Glengarry Glen Ross, is just a murder's row of talent. It's a firecracker of an ensemble, invested in the stakes of the film and wildly magnetic. Among them is Ana de Armas, who is wonderful and disarming as an in-home nurse caught up in the curdled squabbling of the wealthy family whom she is employed by. Another highlight is Chris Evans, who sheds his persona as the lily white Captain America, trading in the indestructible shield and All-American goodness for a cable knit sweater and an entitled, smarmy attitude. It's an absolute joy to witness Evans operating at Peak A**hole™.

Then there's Daniel Craig's performance as Benoit Blanc, a private detective styled after Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. Craig is incredibly effective in the role, lurking around the edges of the film's central mystery with confident, leisurely purpose. He also makes the extraordinarily strange acting choice of adopting a jowly Southern-fried accent, to which I initially cocked my head and raised an eyebrow. But then Blanc's measured Foghorn Leghorn drawl started to grow on me. Then it began to wedge itself into my brain. Now I find myself regularly reciting Blanc's doughnut hole speech in as close an approximation to his accent as possible (NOTE: For first-time viewers, this scene spoils nothing of the plot, but is best appreciated within the context of the film):


That Rian Johnson walked out on this particular ledge with Craig, trusting him enough to develop the character's eccentricities, is a testament to Johnson's strengths as a director. He has a writerly sensibility that is steeped in metaphor, in contrast, in rattling audience expectation. He's also unafraid of setting aside what his pen has dictated to accommodate the innovations of the actors who occupy the roles that he has written. Johnson specifically wrote Benoit Blanc for Daniel Craig, but I don't think even he dared to imagine how Craig would approach the role. God bless them both.

Johnson is a consummate visual stylist. He directed three episodes of the television show Breaking Bad: "The Fly," "Fifty-One," and "Ozymandias." These were three of the best episodes in the series, due in part to Johnson's visual flair, and the metaphorical weight that he assigns to the images in his work. This was true of his venture into the Star Wars universe, as well, which was a remarkable aesthetic feat considering the obligations and expectations associated with that franchise. And it's certainly true of Knives Out, which is a beautiful film on top of being so well-written. Working with DoP and frequent collaborator Steve Yedlin, Knives Out represents a stylish but unshowy kind of cinematography. The camera moves with great interest, stalking across the faces of its characters as if to interrogate them, and roving through the mansion that serves as the murder scene. That house is itself an outsized character in a cast filled with outsized characters. What a location to shoot at!

Knives Out cost $40 million to make, and earned just shy of $310 million at the global box office. It functions as proof that audiences are starved for modestly-budgeted non-franchise films for adults. There is a market for films like these. Studios needn't invest every last dollar into capes and cowls and lightsabers and blasters. Rian Johnson himself has waded into that territory, but I cannot tell you how refreshing it was to see one of my favorite directors return to an original project. I can't recommend this movie enough. For the uninitiated, it will be streaming on Amazon Prime on June 12th.









Monkeys :confused:
 
With my sixth pick in the Shelter in Place Alphabet Movie Draft, I will make use of the letter K to select:

Knives Out (2019):



Director: Rian Johnson
Dir. of Photography: Steve Yedlin
Writer(s): Rian Johnson
Score: Nathan Johnson
Cast: Ana de Armas, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Toni Colette, Don Johnson
Genre(s): Mystery, crime, comedy
Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes

IMDb Entry: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8946378/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

I agonized over which of two films to select for the letter k. Oddly enough, both of my options were tightly-plotted, twisty, witty whodunnits by strong writer-directors that crackle with intensity and hilarity in equal measure. Ultimately, I allowed recency bias to aid me in the selection of a film that represented my favorite moviegoing experience of last year.

Rian Johnson's Knives Out is an anachronism of a sort. Traditional "murder mysteries" aren't exactly in fashion in Hollywood these days. But then again, Knives Out isn't really a traditional murder mystery, though it certainly resembles one. There is a large, distinct mansion. There is a sympathetic victim. There is a conventional murder weapon. There is an enigmatic detective. Johnson is an admitted fan of the works of Agatha Christie, and novels like Murder on the Orient Express were clearly a huge influence on the plotting of this film. But at every stage of the mystery's unfolding in Knives Out, an element that at first appears to fit neatly within the confines of a traditional murder mystery is flipped on its head to reveal an utterly subverted trope. This is one of Rian Johnson's gifts as a writer and director. He is a movie magician who keeps the viewer so intently focused on what the left hand is doing that they fail to witness what has occurred with the right.

Knives Out is a bit difficult to discuss because of how engagingly knotted its story actually is. Unfortunately, to dwell on "what it's about" is to venture directly into spoiler territory, and I would rather not f*** up the fun for future first-time viewers. It's not usually my prerogative to fret about such things. Honestly, I am a moviegoer who gravitates toward film experiences that are not overly concerned with plot. I am generally impervious to spoilers myself, because my interests as a lover of film are usually more geared towards form, and towards tone and texture, than towards plot. I suppose that has something to do with my predilections as a writer. Most scripts aren't terribly original or engaging, in my opinion. Nor are most plot "twists." And most of the conditions that result in bland scripts and tortured twists are just the difficult realities of shepherding forward projects in Hollywood that don't conform to the major studios' understanding of what is likely to earn a profit. But with Knives Out, Rian Johnson managed to craft a vibrant and original script that smuggles a biting and relevant social commentary into a classically-oriented genre tradition.

Elsewhere, the cast of Knives Out, as with Heat and Glengarry Glen Ross, is just a murderer's row of talent. I mean, Jesus, look at that cast list! It's a firecracker of an ensemble, invested in the stakes of the film and wildly magnetic. Among them is Ana de Armas, who is wonderful and disarming as an in-home nurse caught up in the curdled squabbling of the wealthy family whom she is employed by. Another highlight is Chris Evans, who sheds his persona as the lily white Captain America, trading in the indestructible shield and All-American goodness for a cable knit sweater and an entitled, smarmy attitude. It's an absolute joy to witness Evans operating at Peak A**hole™.

Then there's Daniel Craig's performance as Benoit Blanc, a private detective styled after Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. Craig is incredibly effective in the role, lurking around the edges of the film's central mystery with confident, leisurely purpose. He also makes the extraordinarily strange acting choice of adopting a jowly Southern-fried accent, to which I initially cocked my head and raised an eyebrow. But then Blanc's measured Foghorn Leghorn drawl started to grow on me. Then it began to wedge itself into my brain. Now I find myself regularly reciting Blanc's doughnut hole speech in as close an approximation to his accent as possible (NOTE: For first-time viewers, this scene spoils nothing of the plot, but is best appreciated within the context of the film):


That Rian Johnson walked out on this particular ledge with Craig, trusting him enough to develop the character's eccentricities, is a testament to Johnson's strengths as a director. He has a writerly sensibility that is steeped in metaphor, in contrast, in rattling audience expectation. He's also unafraid of setting aside what his pen has dictated to accommodate the innovations of the actors who occupy the roles that he has written. Johnson specifically wrote Benoit Blanc for Daniel Craig, but I don't think even he dared to imagine how Craig would approach the role. God bless them both.

Beyond the performances of his cast, Johnson proves once again that he is a consummate visual stylist. He famously directed three episodes of the television show Breaking Bad: "The Fly," "Fifty-One," and "Ozymandias." These were three of the best episodes in the series, due in no small part to Johnson's visual flair, and the metaphorical weight that he assigns to the images in his work. This was true of his venture into the Star Wars universe, as well, which was a remarkable aesthetic feat considering the obligations and expectations associated with that franchise. And it's certainly true of Knives Out, as well, which is a beautiful film on top of being so well-written. Working with DoP and frequent collaborator Steve Yedlin, Knives Out represents a stylish but unshowy kind of cinematography. The camera moves with great interest, stalking across the faces of its characters as if to interrogate them, and roving through the mansion that serves as the murder scene. That house is itself an outsized character in a cast filled with outsized characters. What a location to shoot at!

Knives Out cost $40 million to make, and earned just shy of $310 million at the global box office. It functions as proof that audiences are starved for modestly-budgeted non-franchise films for adults. There is a market for films like these. Studios needn't invest every last dollar into capes and cowls and lightsabers and blasters. Rian Johnson himself has waded into that territory, but I cannot tell you how refreshing it was to see one of my favorite directors return to an original project. I can't recommend this movie enough. For the uninitiated, it will be streaming on Amazon Prime on June 12th.









Great film. One of my favorites of 2019 as well, was wondering when it would go in this draft. And, once again, great write up.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
Gib: So your life's in the crapper. So your wife is banging a used car salesman - it's humiliating, I know. But goddamnit, Harry, take it like a man!

"T" is for

True Lies (1994)

True_Lies_poster.png

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111503/

A quick plot summary from IMDb:

A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with a used-car salesman while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.
Is this the best movie ever made? No. But sometimes you just want that guilty pleasure funny action flick and this James Cameron film helps fill that niche.

The cast:
Does it all sound a little goofy? Yep. But it sets up a lot of good action sequences and funny scenes (often at Bill Paxton's expense). Arnie and Tom play well off each other and are fun to watch together. And Jamie's performance also shines whether being interrogated, revealing her boredom with life to Bill, being in a catfight with Tia, or unknowingly putting on a "performance" for her husband.

I especially like the interplay with Arnie/Jamie and Tom Arnold (as well as Bill Paxton). I haven't seen many movies with Tom Arnold but I really like him in this one. And I love Bill. He's just solid in whatever I've seen him in. He plays a great sleazeball character in this one - a slimy used car salesman that pretends he's a spy to get women to be interested in him (including with Jamie).

I don't really care as much for the ending sequence on the fighter jet, but that is a minor quibble in an otherwise entertaining flick.

From wikipedia:

For her performance, Curtis won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and the Saturn Award for Best Actress, while Cameron won the Saturn Award for Best Director. The film ultimately grossed $378 million worldwide at the box-office and was also nominated at the Academy Awards and BAFTAs in the Best Visual Effect category, and also for seven Saturn Awards.
Gib: [to Harry] Same thing happened to me with wife number two, 'member? I have no idea nothing's going on, right? I come home one day and the house is empty, and I mean completely empty. She even took the ice cube trays out of the freezer. What kind of a sick ***** takes the ICE CUBE trays out of the FREEZER?

Gib: Kids - 10 seconds of joy, 30 years of misery.

Helen Tasker: Have you ever killed anyone?
Harry: Yeah, but they were all bad.

Gib: [over radio] All right twinkle toes, what's your exit strategy?
Harry: I'm gonna walk right out of the front gate.
Gib: [over radio] Ballsy. Stupid but ballsy.

Faisil: [in a conference room in their counter terrorism sector] They call him the Sand Spider.
Spencer Trilby: Why?
Faisil: Probably because it sounds scary.

Simon: No, I sell cars! That's all! C'mon, I'm not a terrorist. I'm actually a complete coward, if I ever saw a gun, I'd...
Harry: [Harry takes his gun out and points it in Simon's face]
Simon: [Whining and pleading] Oh God, no, please don't kill me. I'm not a spy. I'm nothing. I'm navel lint! I have to lie to women to get laid, and I don't score much. I got a little ****, it's pathetic!
[Harry and Gib gave Simon a weird look, then Simon pees his pants]
Simon: Wha, uh, oh God. Would a spy pee himself, huh? Please, I'm not worth a bullet.


[last lines to himself, inside a surveillance van]
Gib: You know what? I'm sick of being in the van. You guys are going to be in the van next time. I've been in the van for 15 years, Harry.
 
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Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
VF21 has requested that I post her next pick to keep the draft moving along - she will return to fill in the details when she has a chance.

VF21 selects High Noon (1952), the Gary Cooper classic. "Finally, a Western" I said. "No," VF21 responded, "THE Western."

I'll PM Foxfire.
 
I just graduated 6th grade on Thursday. To honor the occasion, my teacher held a socially distant knighting ceremony. I meditated before the event, and performed a monologue play following a feast and archery tournament. I was asked to kneel and vow to follow the virtues of the knights code: to be just, loyal, pure, courageous, full of honor, gracious, and helpful.

In honor of this vow, I choose a film that inspires virtue. To fight for what you believe in.

B = Braveheart



Winner of 5 Academy Awards, including best picture and best director, Braveheart follows the life of William Wallace. A simple man, with humble ambitions, driven to vengeance following the murder of his wife. He inspires his followers with his genuine love of country, friendship, and freedom!

Link #1
Link #2
Link #3

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112573/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
 
Get busy living, or get busy dying. That's goddam right
S = The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - R



This movie is some low hanging fruit that I couldn't abide falling farther. It is a tale of patience, vindication, and the perseverance of the human spirit.



Link #1
Link #2
Link #3

Quotes:
Red: Hope is a dangerous thing my friend, it can kill a man...
Andy: Hope is a good thing maybe even the best of things and good things never die.

Andy: You know, the funny thing is, on the outside I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.

Red: I tell you, those voices soared. Higher and farther than anyone in a gray place dares to dream.

Red: Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it really takes, pressure and time. That and a big damn poster.

Parole Hearings Man: You feel you've been rehabilitated?
Red: Rehabilitated. Let's see now. You know, come to think of it, I have no idea what that means.
Parole Hearings Man: Well, it means you're ready to rejoin society as
Red: I know what you think it means. Me, I think it's a made-up word, a politician's word. A word so young fellas like you can wear a suit and tie and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?
Parole Hearings Man: well, are you
Red: Not a day goes by I don't feel regret, and not because I'm in here or because you think I should. I look back on myself the way I was...stupid kid who did that terrible crime...wish I could talk sense to him. Tell him how things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone, this old man is all that's left, and I have to live with that. (beat) Rehabilitated? That's a bullcrap word, so you just go on ahead and stamp that form there, sonny, and stop wasting my damn time. Truth is, I don't give a crap.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
 
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You can’t handle the truth.

F is for A Few Good Men

AE8A3E34-21A2-4BE2-8A87-02A9EE2AC18E.jpeg

I’m a sucker for a courtroom drama. I’m a sucker for Aaron Sorkin. Here, they combine.

Internet blurb: A fast-talking, charming Navy defense attorney must prove that a pair of Marines are innocent of murdering a fellow fighter in this taut and provocative courtroom thriller. The lawyer's biggest obstacle is a conniving base commander who wants the whole affair swept under the carpet.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
You can’t handle the truth.

F is for A Few Good Men

View attachment 9898

I’m a sucker for a courtroom drama. I’m a sucker for Aaron Sorkin. Here, they combine.

Internet blurb: A fast-talking, charming Navy defense attorney must prove that a pair of Marines are innocent of murdering a fellow fighter in this taut and provocative courtroom thriller. The lawyer's biggest obstacle is a conniving base commander who wants the whole affair swept under the carpet.
Just watched this for the first time the other day.

And it struck me in how many ways it was similar it was to another movie (I can't name yet) that came out 5 years before this one. As in, to a large extent, almost identical with the major themes/plot points.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
OK, still not feeling the best so I'm going to keep this short. Staying with the alphabet and the letter F, I'm choosing one of my all time favorite rebel movies, Five Easy Pieces, starring Jack Nicholson, and Karen Black, who won best actress for the role. While Black was good, make no mistake, this is vintage Nicholson, who steals every scene he's in. The movie was nominated for 9 academy awards winning only one, Best Actress. It was directed and produced by Bob Rafelson. There are several vintage scenes in the movie so it was hard to choose which one. So I started with the scene in the Diner.


 

hrdboild

Hall of Famer
OK, still not feeling the best so I'm going to keep this short. Staying with the alphabet and the letter F, I'm choosing one of my all time favorite rebel movies, Five Easy Pieces, starring Jack Nicholson, and Karen Black, who won best actress for the role. While Black was good, make no mistake, this is vintage Nicholson, who steals every scene he's in. The movie was nominated for 9 academy awards winning only one, Best Actress. It was directed and produced by Bob Rafelson. There are several vintage scenes in the movie so it was hard to choose which one. So I started with the scene in the Diner.


This is such a good movie! The way it slowly unravels this character, his difficult past, and his even more uncertain future is so beautiful to witness. There's probably a few other notable films I'm forgetting about but I would argue that this is the character study film all other character study films are judged by. Post 1970 at least.
 
My next choice, which will be the letter "H", is going to be a bit out of the usual.

Hodejegerne [Headhunters] (2011)

Director:
Morten Tyldum
Writers:
Ulf Ryberg (screenplay), Lars Gudmestad (screenplay)
Stars:
Aksel Hennie, Synnøve Macody Lund, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau



This slick Nordic thriller 'Headhunters' is full of twists, an accomplished executive recruiter (headhunter) risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary. Like a Teutonic techno band, this thriller is both skillfully familiar and chillingly strange. Along with the Swedish "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," "Headhunters" is visceral evidence that Nordic Noir is the new black.

It's also where I first saw Mr. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of Game of Thrones' fame, who plays the suave Dutch technocrat Clas Greve.

It is a very well crafted nicely paced Hitchcockian thriller. Highly recommended.

 
... [inaudible whispers] ...
L is for ...
Lost in Translation (2003)

This is a great pick. Definitely my favorite Sofia Coppola's movie. The mysteriousness of the relatively unknown Scar-jo plays perfectly along with the legend Mr. Bill Murray. As a photographer growing up in Asia and has been living in America for the past few decades, this film hit me deeper than for other people.

I would've picked this if you didn't. :)
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
My next choice, which will be the letter "H", is going to be a bit out of the usual.

Hodejegerne [Headhunters] (2011)

It is a very well crafted nicely paced Hitchcockian thriller. Highly recommended.
Have we officially reached the "good movie recommendation" portion of the draft? 'Cause this looks interesting, but I hadn't heard of it. (At any rate, I think I've got several more "you might have wanted this" movies to take before I slip into my "you should watch this" phase.)
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
To fill my “E” column in the alphabetical movie draft, I select:



Ex Machina (2014)

Written and directed by Alex Garland

Starring Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac

Trailer

A smart young coder at the world's biggest search engine is selected for a one-week vacation at the company founder's remote estate - but when he gets there, he learns that the real purpose of his visit is to participate in a Turing Test of sorts on the founder's newly constructed, human-shaped AI.

Outside of a couple of small roles, there are really only three actors in this film - Isaac as the founder, Gleeson as the coder/tester, and Vikander as Ava, the AI. Obviously it wasn't written as such, but outside of a few stunning nature visuals, this could be put on as a stage play with almost no rework to the script. Despite what the poster looks like, this is not remotely an action film. This is a deep-thinking Sci-Fi film that is probably the best treatment of the question "What does it mean to be human?" since...well...the only thing that comes to mind is Star Trek TNG's "Measure of a Man" episode. But I'll welcome other suggestions on that. Either way, if you haven't gotten around to seeing this film, fix that!

Try me. I'm hot on high-level abstraction.
 
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Have we officially reached the "good movie recommendation" portion of the draft? 'Cause this looks interesting, but I hadn't heard of it. (At any rate, I think I've got several more "you might have wanted this" movies to take before I slip into my "you should watch this" phase.)
I made the mental switch from "my best movie list" to "hidden gem movies I wouldn't mind revisiting", I got a few more up my sleeves.

And btw, thanks for picking Ex Machina, now I gotta find a new movie for my next pick... :mad::p
 
Sticking with a family theme, I select:

F = Fly Away Home



These are strange times we live in, and we are all feeling a bit displaced. May we find our true way home!

I got sucked into a movie on the satellite dish the other day, 'Fly Away Home.' It's a story about a young motherless girl (Amy) who rescues some wild goose eggs and basically becomes their mother. The story evolves as the goslings grow into young adult birds ready to fly south. Since they never had parents the geese haven't learned to fly. The girl's dad thinks he can get them to fly by following him in his ultra-light. But they will only follow Amy. So dad teaches her to fly. Soon the geese are flying. Next, dad and Amy hatch a plot to fly south and have the geese follow them. We know this actually happened when 2 scientists did something similar.

One of the reasons I was sucked into this wonderful family movie was the photography. It is National Geographic quality. In fact I was so impressed with the cinematography that I had to look up who did it: Caleb Deschanel. The setting, a farm in Southern Ontario, allowed him to become intimate with the geese and the natural setting. Another reason I couldn't stop watching the movie was the stunning performance by Anna Paquin, the 16-year old girl who played Amy. I remembered her from the movie, REDACTED. Paquin was so good in her part that she won the Oscar, quite a feat for an 11-year old.

The story, 'Fly Away Home' is touching because she's not the kind of Hollywood-trained child actor you find in most movies. A surprising thing happened as I watched Amy and her geese. I could sense a startling serenity from her as the bond had developed between them. I wondered how she could manage that. She was only a 16-year old actress then but she conveyed a mothering instinct that goes back to the ageless beginnings of life on this planet. When the goslings were following her around, much of the photography was from ground level. Later when they were all flying, the photography was right there in the flying formation. You were seeing the birds, in flight, right next to you. The beauty of motion was unbelievable. I thought, 'How could anyone shoot these creatures?' There is beauty in seeing them fly. There is beauty in seeing them in their habitat. But the overwhelming beauty is in their living. They deserved that life. It made me think of this sad planet and the billions of creatures that have died because of the human race. Here was a story that went against the slaughter. When Amy and her birds arrived at their destination in Chesapeake Bay I had misty eyes.
Link #1
Link #2
Link #3

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116329/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_4
 
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