TDOS Cabin by the Lake Movie Draft - DRAFT COMPLETED

#61
With my 1st pick in the TDOS Cabin by the Lake Movie draft, I select:

The Princess Bride (1987)



Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, true love, miracles...What's not to like?

I was enamored by this film at an early age. It has adventure for the boys, is romantic enough for date night, and each showing remains enjoyable, nostalgic, and endearing. My first viewing of this was in the Off Broad Street theater in Nevada City, CA, where they moved out the chairs, and brought in the couches instead. It has remained a staple in my movie collection ever after and I look forward to sharing it with my family in my cabin for many years to come :).

IMDB Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/
Nice! Such a great pick...and it would have totally slipped my mind. Immensely rewatchable.
 
#63
I'm in a time crunch and on my phone, so this isn't going to be as extensive or in depth as I'd like.

I took this movie as my first over all pick during the last draft and during the past decade it's actual rather impressive it's still held a strangled hold as my favorite film of all time.

Apocalypse Now - 1979

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https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078788/

This is the film that changed everything as it relates to cinema for me. Prior to this I only watched summer blockbusters and modern American screwball comedies. A movie had to entertain me in order to be deemed good. That was my only criterion for quality: Did I have fun watching it?

In college I briefly dated a film major who asked me what my favorite movie was and I half-jokingly answered a forgettably dumb screwball comedy. (Better VF?) I'll never forget the expression of complete disgust she shot me in response. Her rudely snide face alone compelled me to explore the art form further, if for no other reason than to prove her to be a stuck-up snob. I started simply enough with either picking up anything on AFI's top 100 list or simply tracking down any movie I'd always heard of as a "classic" but had never actually seen. And true to my suspicions, I found most were just as boring, unimpressive, or "overrated" as I had expected. And the ones I did like were no competition for the blockbusters that already populated my personal top 10.

After a year of stubbornly plodding through these overrated "classics" and having my opinion merely confirmed, while on summer break I picked up from Blockbuster (ha!) #16 on the AFI list: Apocalypse Now.

It was not a "fun" watch. It was dark, and brooding, and weird, and methodical, and insane, and utterly, utterly mesmerizing.

Most people can reference Apocalypse Now as the Vietnam movie with the helicopters blowing stuff up to the sound of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries and the line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." It is, after all, a movie commonly cited as a favorite among dude-bros and machismos who know nothing about the movie's link to Heart of Darkness, its darkly ironical use of the above mentioned scene, and that that's only the beginning of the film at the proverbial gates of Hell.

The intensity ratchets up from there in an achingly torturous creak as the crew of PBR Streetgang inches down the river. I remember saying out loud to myself, as the plot points got increasingly bizarre and nightmarish, there's no way the meeting with Kurtz can possibly be a satisfying payoff to top this amazing build-up ... except it's Marlon Brando at his most surreal putting in a performance in 15 minutes that matches his greatest body of work.

When it was over I'd felt completely exhausted, serene, and satisfied - a far cry from the giddiness of excitement I'd get leaving the theater from one of the summer blockbusters or screwball comedies previously mentioned. From that point, I committed myself to the hobby of seeking out a film experience that matched the first time I'd watched Apocalypse Now.

Also need to comment, as praised as the Redux version is, I emphatically prefer the original theatrical version. Redux has some interesting additions, but ultimately I think they make the film bloated and disjointed. The original is close to perfection in my mind without the additions.
 
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VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#64
Reminder: Please do not mention any undrafted move titles in your posts. What you view as non-draftable just might be on someone else's list. This has happened in the past to the chagrin of all involved. :)
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#69
Can drafting members be Jokers too?
Nope. The whole idea is to entice someone who isn't already participating.

rosa u podne sent me a PM asking if he could be the joker for this round. I replied that he could, but he had apparently left the board by the time I saw his question. I've now changed my notifications so I'll get those immediately. If someone else posts before he returns (he's posting from overseas), I think I'll reserve the second JOKER spot for him.
 
#70
Nope. The whole idea is to entice someone who isn't already participating.

rosa u podne sent me a PM asking if he could be the joker for this round. I replied that he could, but he had apparently left the board by the time I saw his question. I've now changed my notifications so I'll get those immediately. If someone else posts before he returns (he's posting from overseas), I think I'll reserve the second JOKER spot for him.
Oh good, I was worrying that the pick would be dissolved... with the air currents.

:p
 
#71
Ok....I’ll take the first Joker pick

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/

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And not just because this is the top rated film on IMDB. The rewatchability of this film is off the charts. Brilliant performances from Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. A must have for any cabin by the lake.

Can someone PM whoever has the next pick for me? I’m not sure if this is snake draft or if this goes back to number 1.
 
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#72
Ok....I’ll take the first Joker pick

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/...1&pf_rd_t=15506&pf_rd_i=top&ref_=m_chttp_tt_1

And not just because this is the top rated film on IMDB. The rewatchability of this film is off the charts. Brilliant performances from Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. A must have for any cabin by the lake.

Can someone PM whoever has the next pick for me, I’m not sure if this is snake draft or if this goes back to number 1.
Lovely choice! Now I get to scratch that one off my list... :)
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#73
Ok....I’ll take the first Joker pick

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/...1&pf_rd_t=15506&pf_rd_i=top&ref_=m_chttp_tt_1

And not just because this is the top rated film on IMDB. The rewatchability of this film is off the charts. Brilliant performances from Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. A must have for any cabin by the lake.

Can someone PM whoever has the next pick for me, I’m not sure if this is snake draft or if this goes back to number 1.
ARGH!!!!! I disqualify you. Seriously! BLAST!!! The draft is strict order, not serpentine so Warhawk is up.

nice pick
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
#74
I’m away from the computer so I’ll pick and update later.

Young Frankenstein hurts. Excellent choice.

Lots of ways to go, and again I know I’m going to be frustrated later with movies I miss on but....

Atomic Blonde - 2017

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2406566/



One of the best action movies I’ve seen, and the 80’s music, Berlin sets, and excellent acting put it at the top of the list. That long cut staircase fight scene is worth the price of admission alone (not truly a long cut, but edited so it appears to be).

I wouldn't say I was ever a big Theron fan; actually, I don't know that I had a huge impression of her one way or another. But this movie showed her action chops are indeed for real. She actually does most of the fight scenes herself. Fights are well choreographed, the action keeps coming at you, and the little kicker at the end was pretty good as well.

1529197366857.png atomicblonde-2-1200x530.jpg atomic-blonde-charlize-theron.jpg rrutT6oEzvAl4gKhP1G4clXxlFQ3eqdI0oYvy0BsxqBAiGXys9VyVrCo3mzVKfDg.jpg
 
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HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
#75
Ok....I’ll take the first Joker pick

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/

And not just because this is the top rated film on IMDB. The rewatchability of this film is off the charts. Brilliant performances from Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. A must have for any cabin by the lake.

Can someone PM whoever has the next pick for me? I’m not sure if this is snake draft or if this goes back to number 1.
Excellent job jacking things up for the rest of us!
 

hrdboild

Hall of Famer
#77
I’m away from the computer so I’ll pick and update later.

Young Frankenstein hurts. Excellent choice.

Lots of ways to go, and again I know I’m going to be frustrated later with movies I miss on but....

Atomic Blonde - 2017

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2406566/

One of the best action movies I’ve seen, and the 80’s music and excellent acting put it at the top of the list. That long cut staircase fight scene is worth the price of admission alone.
Woah! First pick of the second round? Maybe I should watch this movie.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#78
With my second pick, I grab the one movie that totally reduces me to tears of laughter every single time I watch it (on DVD, of course). I actually wore out a VHS copy of this film.

Blazing Saddles - 1974

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071230/

1529194519167.png

There is no way in the world this movie gets made today. If you haven't seen it, you cannot imagine just how demented and hysterical it is. About as politically incorrect as humanly possible, Mel Brooks hits every single nerve at least once and manages to ridicule and yet pay homage to a whole bunch of classic westerns at the same time. From Cleavon Little's exquisite portrayal of the sheriff to Madeline Kahn as Lili Von Shtupp, from Harvey Korman as Hedley Lamarr to Slim Pickens as Taggart and Mel Brooks in dual roles as the utterly corrupt Governor Lepetomane and "Indian Chief," every actor on the screen including the incomparable Gene Wilder makes this film the one film my cabin could not exist without.

My favorite scene is the campfire scene, although I was very disappointed the last time I saw this on TV as they muted the sounds. (If you do watch it, make sure you watch it unedited.)


There are so many other scenes however that remain indelibly etched in my memory. Here's just one of them...with Mongo (Alex Karras):


I know those scenes are outrageous. That's Mel Brooks at his best - and what makes this film so funny.

There is enough in this movie to make me laugh for a lifetime. I had thought this would be safe for later rounds but when Jespher stole The Princess Bride I knew I would have to move this up on my list or risk not having it on my island.
 
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Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
#79
Woah! First pick of the second round? Maybe I should watch this movie.
I probably reached a bit, but it is one of those movies I just really enjoy. And I absolutely know I’m going to miss out on some others but what the heck. Change it up a bit and hope some other favorites still fall to me next round.
 

HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
#80
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For the third pick of the second round Hndsmcelt selects Citizen Kane (1941). The fact that this monumental film was not picked in the first round is to all of our shame. Topping the AFI’s 100 Best Films list. There are reasons that any critics list of best films has Kane at or very near the top. The scrip, a thinly veiled biography of William Randolph Hearst ultimately says more about Orson Wells him self as author, director and star. Like many others I hold this film to be the great American film. The story explores the effects of wealth and power. This film follows Kane’s life as he grows more powerful yet distant from those who care for him. The course of Kan’s life demands the audience evaluate what is important in their own lives, as they observe Kane as an object lesson in gaining the world while losing his own soul. Money and power buy Kane neither love nor true respect. Rather he becomes a social outcast trapped in the most elaborate gilded cage imaginable.
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Kane’s script alone is not what makes this film monumental, Greg Toland’s use of dramatic lighting, both deep and shallow focus moves the story, into a literal decent into darkness that can be seen copied but never duplicated in Noir films following Kane. This sets a mood for the film that envelops the audience holding them in Kane’s world generating feelings of dread, despair and emptiness that underscore the obvious thesis of the film but also allowing for transcendent moments in which the audience can see beyond the darker world that consumes Kane and into the brighter deeper world of his youth.
1529212592939.png

When focused on the lost friendship of Leland , the camera tells the story beyond words by contrasting the light and the life in Leland that the has long left Kane.
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The acting of Joseph Cotton, Agnes Moorhead and countless others are sublime to the point that I find myself forgetting that Wells did not so much dominate his scenes but was featured by talented actors who pushed his presence to the forefront.
Again I consider this the great American film and as such is timeless but perhaps now more than ever it worthy of a new look if you have not seen in lately.
 
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#83
With my second pick, I'm picking a film that is truly a top 5 favorite of mine. It is a relentless body horror suspense masterpiece.

The Thing (1982)
3aa13857949623.59e9c8af8912a.jpg
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084787/

The retina-wrecking visual excess and outright, nihilistic terror masterpiece, placing 12 men at an Antarctic station while a shapeshifter takes them over one by one. Combined that with the legendary Hollywood SFX artist Rob Bottin's effects that completely enhance the mood and the feeling of the film, which still stand up to this day, Ennio Morricone's score that is fantastic, and the ensemble acting is played entirely straight as suspicion and paranoia as it overwhelms the characters.

It's fascinating, horrifying, and utterly engaging from the first frame to the last.

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hrdboild

Hall of Famer
#85
With my second pick, I'm picking a film that is truly a top 5 favorite of mine. It is a relentless body horror suspense masterpiece.

The Thing (1982)
View attachment 7721
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084787/

The retina-wrecking visual excess and outright, nihilistic terror masterpiece, placing 12 men at an Antarctic station while a shapeshifter takes them over one by one. Combined that with the legendary Hollywood SFX artist Rob Bottin's effects that completely enhance the mood and the feeling of the film, which still stand up to this day, Ennio Morricone's score that is fantastic, and the ensemble acting is played entirely straight as suspicion and paranoia as it overwhelms the characters.

It's fascinating, horrifying, and utterly engaging from the first frame to the last.

View attachment 7722
View attachment 7724
View attachment 7725
View attachment 7726 View attachment 7727
Ooh, nice one. This is such a fun take on the "isolated mystery" genre where everyone is a suspect and you don't know who really did it until the end, particularly because we're informed pretty early on that the shapeshifter can attack and assume a new form at any time. You really can't trust anyone! And that leads to some fun surprises in the final act. This is a story structure that I wish more horror movies would adopt and run with.
 

hrdboild

Hall of Famer
#86
With my second pick, I grab the one movie that totally reduces me to tears of laughter every single time I watch it (on DVD, of course). I actually wore out a VHS copy of this film.

Blazing Saddles - 1974

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071230/

View attachment 7716

There is no way in the world this movie gets made today. If you haven't seen it, you cannot imagine just how demented and hysterical it is. About as politically incorrect as humanly possible, Mel Brooks hits every single nerve at least once and manages to ridicule and yet pay homage to a whole bunch of classic westerns at the same time. From Cleavon Little's exquisite portrayal of the sheriff to Madeline Kahn as Lili Von Shtupp, from Harvey Korman as Hedley Lamarr to Slim Pickens as Taggart and Mel Brooks in dual roles as the utterly corrupt Governor Lepetomane and "Indian Chief," every actor on the screen including the incomparable Gene Wilder makes this film the one film my cabin could not exist without.

My favorite scene is the campfire scene, although I was very disappointed the last time I saw this on TV as they muted the sounds. (If you do watch it, make sure you watch it unedited.)


There are so many other scenes however that remain indelibly etched in my memory. Here's just one of them...with Mongo (Alex Karras):


I know those scenes are outrageous. That's Mel Brooks at his best - and what makes this film so funny.

There is enough in this movie to make me laugh for a lifetime. I had thought this would be safe for later rounds but when Jespher stole The Princess Bride I knew I would have to move this up on my list or risk not having it on my island.
The great thing about Mel Brooks is that he understands the genre conventions so fully of the movies he parodies that the jokes are often built on the juxtaposition of what we expect to happen and what actually happens. The more westerns you've seen, the funnier this gets. It's actually a pretty sophisticated type of comedy propping the whole thing up though the specifics might not always be what we think of as sophisticated :).
 

hrdboild

Hall of Famer
#87
I'm out by the pool right now so I will update later. But for the sake of keeping things going I'll be taking Citizen Kane. And the fact that Citizen Kane was not picked until the second round you should shame all of us!

Citizen Kane - 1941

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/

View attachment 7720
While I do enjoy Citizen Kane, it's not one of my favorites. The Gregg Toland photography in this is something else though! It's probably the most influential movie of all time.
 
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VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#88
Comments on picks are welcome and encouraged. Again, though, DO NOT MENTION movies that have not been drafted.