TDOS Cabin by the Lake Movie Draft - DRAFT COMPLETED

We know that obviously, but I don't find myself having conversations about him with other people very often. Even with other film people. So color me pleasantly surprised! I think pretty much everything he did is a masterwork. There's another, even bigger, influence from French cinema I think who is underappreciated but highly imitated. I'm not going to mention who it is though because I might want to pick one of his movies further down the line.
If I'm thinking the one who I think you're thinking of, I should probably go rework my list now... :p
 

hrdboild

Hall of Famer
My next pick is by one of my own countrymen...

In the Mood for Love (2000)
View attachment 7909
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118694/

It is a little strange to call In the Mood for Love a romance film. It is about two neighbors who form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their respective spouses. It is filled with culturally moral nuances. It is a lush story of unrequited love. There is one particular scene that encapsulates the Chinese subtlety with love and relationship perfectly, when the two play-act imaginary scenes between their cheating spouses. I would go on but I would risk spoiling it. If you have an open Sunday afternoon when you don't mind letting go of the binds of social and cultural differences, just feel the love, the raw emotion of love, even if it is only a very limited moment, even if it is unrequited, I'd surely recommend this.

Masterfully directed by Mr. Wong Kar-Wai, a celebrated Hong Kong director, with the exquisite cinematography by Christopher Doyle, who employed the general oppressive of space to imitate the confined relationship between the two. And last but certainly not least, the subtle and disciplined performance by both lead actors, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung.

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Kar-Wai is another filmmaking genius. The visual style he came up with working with Christopher Doyle completely re-wired the way I look at scenes now. It's just pure visual poetry in motion. I fell in love with Fuji film stocks because of the hyper-real colors in these movies... back when we all thought shooting on film wasn't going to go away anytime soon. Ha! The new Fuji digital cameras actually do a decent job of reproducing those super saturated colors though.

It's funny to think about now because almost everyone in the 90s was obsessed with dialog but Kar-Wai was very much the opposite even then. The images told you everything, the dialog was more of an afterthought. Which makes these great movies to study. There's so many great directors to talk about. I'm glad you put a Wong Kar-Wai film on your list because I'm not sure I can squeeze one in but he absolutely deserves to be appreciated.
 
Round 5 pick 6:

Rocky - 1976

91F023C8-8257-46CC-B16D-A292B1E3A697.jpeg

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0075148/

AAAAADDDDDDDDRRRRRRRIIIIIIAAAAAANNNNN

I feel extremely lucky this was not scooped up by anyone looking to fulfill their 70’s genre movie. This is my all-time favorite boxing/fighting movie. The music, the redemption story of a loan shark hired muscle fulfilling his destiny and finding a better life. The low-key love story between the protagonist and an awkward lady. Just a great film all-around. And the go-to theme song for anyone training their butts off...It’s the FINAL COUNTDOWN!!! Dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun dun dun dum!!!
 
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hrdboild

Hall of Famer
With the 7th pick of the fifth round (71st overall)...

Bullitt (1968) -- Peter Yates / Crime Thriller


https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062765/
___And now for something completely different, for this pick I'm taking a straight-forward police procedural shot in a documentary-realist style by British director Peter Yates. Starring the patron saint of manhood Steve McQueen as Lt. Bullitt, a slick-dressing detective who refuses to quit on the case even after Senator Walter Chalmers, underplayed beautifully by Robert Vaughn, starts digging into his police chief to have him written up. The result is a kind of modern day detective story, well modern for 1968, with 3 terrific cat and mouse chase sequences sprinkled throughout and an awful lot of Steve McQueen just looking cool. Jacqueline Bisset is mostly wasted here in the thankless role of Bullitt's girlfriend but she at least is allowed to do a good job of looking cool too.

___I can't talk about Bullitt without talking about the famous car chase sequence and it is marvelously executed. Steve McQueen turns the tables on his pursuers and the music ducks away as we're treated to approximately 10 minutes of deliriously white knuckle stunt driving through the streets of San Francisco accompanied only by the sound of squealing tires and the roar of a 1968 Dodge Charger 440 and a 1968 Mustang Fastback 390 GT. An experienced racer, Steve McQueen did most of his own driving and Bill Hickman, driving the Dodge Charger, looks a little bit like my grandfather which only makes this sequence cooler for me! What's a film collection without a car chase? And this is one of the best -- shot practically with the cameras mounted in the cars way before the advent of digital effects.

___The opening title sequence is iconic, the music is a selection of delightfully upbeat jazz vamps from the legend Lalo Schifrin, and throughout the film we're treated to picturesque views of San Francisco, one of the most photogenic cities in the world. In the film's penultimate sequence, a chase across the runway at San Francisco International Airport, McQueen's face nearly disappears into the inky black of cinematographer Bill Fraker's frame, his blue eyes shining out from the darkness as the predator stalks his prey. Never bet against Steve McQueen! It's fantastic fun from beginning to end.
Musical choice: Lalo Schifrin -- Shifting Gears



[whitechocolate is on the clock]
 
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Just as a heads up, in case it gets to me, I’ll be heading to the airport soon and will be unavailable for 16-18hrs. Thanks in advance for your patience.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
With the 7th pick of the fifth round (71st overall)...

Bullitt (1968) -- Peter Yates / Crime Thriller

View attachment 7920
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062765/
___And now for something completely different, for this pick I'm taking a straight-forward police procedural shot in a documentary-realist style by British director Peter Yates. Starring the patron saint of manhood Steve McQueen as Lt. Bullitt, a slick-dressing detective who refuses to quit on the case even after Senator Walter Chalmers, underplayed beautifully by Robert Vaughn, starts digging into his police chief to have him written up. The result is a kind of modern day detective story, well modern for 1968, with 3 terrific cat and mouse chase sequences sprinkled throughout and an awful lot of Steve McQueen just looking cool. Jacqueline Bisset is mostly wasted here in the thankless role of Bullitt's girlfriend but she at least is allowed to do a good job of looking cool too.

___I can't talk about Bullitt without talking about the famous car chase sequence and it is marvelously executed. Steve McQueen turns the tables on his pursuers and the music ducks away as we're treated to approximately 10 minutes of deliriously white knuckle stunt driving through the streets of San Francisco accompanied only by the sound of squealing tires and the roar of a 1968 Dodge Charger 440 and a 1968 Mustang Fastback 390 GT. Steve McQueen did all his own driving and Bill Hickman, driving the Dodge Charger, looks a little bit like my grandfather which only makes this sequence cooler for me! What's a film collection without a car chase? And this is one of the best -- shot practically with the cameras mounted in the cars way before the advent of digital effects.

___The opening title sequence is iconic, the music is a selection of delightfully upbeat jazz vamps from Lalo Schifrin, and throughout the film we're treated to picturesque views of San Francisco, one of the most photogenic cities in the world. In the film's penultimate sequence, a chase across the runway at San Francisco International Airport, McQueen's face nearly disappears into the inky black of cinematographer Bill Fraker's frame, his blue eyes shining out from the darkness as the predator stalks his prey. It's fantastic fun from beginning to end.
Musical choice: Lalo Schifrin -- Shifting Gears
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[whitechocolate is on the clock]
Did you remember to send the PM? I only ask because whitechocolate was on the board this afternoon.
 
Vampyr (1932), Carl Theodor Dreyer

vampyr47.jpg


I was reluctant to include this film on my list because I already have a film involving vampires, but Vampyr couldn't be much more different than What We Do in the Shadows, and it is among my all time favorites.

Vampyr feels like a transitional film between the silent era and the era of "talkies". Dialogue is kept to a minimum, and text is often used to move the story along. Its quiet nature acts as a negative space to emphasize the dark nature of the events and characters in the movie. Even many of the shots feel like the sinister elements placed within negative space. Shadow and light are also brilliantly utilized to enhance this mood. The direction feels very personal, drawing the viewer into a foreboding world of mystery and the supernatural along with the main character. Its mood and dark beauty make Vampyr a must see.
 
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Inception, 2010, Christopher Nolan

63f.jpg

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/

Inception (2010) is simply a mind blowing film (figuratively speaking). It captured the imagination of spectators as one of the best science fiction and fantasy movies to be produced. Produced and directed by Christopher Nolan - one of the most acclaimed and influential filmmakers of the 21st century - who also wrote the script of the movie. Nolan's' original ideas stemmed back in 2001, nine year before the movie was released, when he wrote an eighty-page script on dream stealing. This work has inspired the concept of dream incubation and lucid dreaming which bore this mystery envisioning a world where technology has been developed to allow entrance into the human mind by means of dream invasion. Inception is based on the basic inspiration that a single idea in an individual's mind can be either the most valuable asset or the most dangerous weapon.
The film hosts an amazing cast in Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe and Ellen Page.
 
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Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
The Silence of the Lambs, 1991, Jonathan Demme

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102926/




The Silence of the Lambs is probably my favorite psychological thriller of all time. It took me a while to fully warm up to the film. I think the first time I saw it I was probably a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing, but one afternoon about ten years ago I happened to catch the very beginning on TV and instead of turn it off I thought I'd let it play in the background for a half an hour or so before I had something else to do...I ended up blowing off the other thing and watching the entire film. Demme does an amazing job making the script taut and full of a ton of tension despite the fact that in a strict sense, not a lot happens. There's a serial killer on the loose, and a young FBI cadet is interviewing a captured serial killer to try to find leads in the case, but when a prominent lawmaker's daughter gets taken by the killer, it becomes a race against time.

Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster are amazing in the film, and I'm always and forever scarred by the performance of Ted Levine as the killer - once you realize that he's also the virtuous Captain Stottlemyre in Monk you'll never watch that series the same again!
 
With the 75th pick in the TDOS Cabin by the Lake Movie Draft, I select...

Ex Machina (2014):



Director: Alex Garland
Dir. of Photography: Rob Hardy
Writer(s): Alex Garland
Score: Geoff Barrow, Ben Salisbury
Cast: Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac
Genre(s): Science fiction, thriller, mystery, drama
Runtime: 1 hour, 48 minutes

IMDb Entry: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Much like Blade Runner and its sequel, Ex Machina interrogates the very soul of our species for an answer to the question of what it means to be human. It is 100% my kind of movie: smart, spare, beautiful, full of ideas, quick of wit, carefully paced, complete with a pitch perfect and non-traditional score. Domhnall Gleeson is affecting as a wide-eyed nobody drawn into a house of horrors. Alicia Vikander makes a startling yet delicate impression in her first major screen role. And Oscar Isaac turns in an absolutely stellar performance as an unexpected cross between aloof tech genius and insolent frat boy. That dude is f*cking magnetic. He's a star. He should be in everything.

Alex Garland made his directorial debut with this movie, and it's hard to argue for a stronger initial feature this side of the new millennium. Garland has such a wonderful imagination for visual presentation. I went into Ex Machina with zero expectations, and was both surprised and overjoyed to find a tight, compact, hypnotically-paced thriller with the most striking use of visual effects I’ve seen in some time. The world of possibility offered up by CGI has created a pervasive culture of “MORE IS MORE” across Hollywood, so much so that major studio productions with heavy effects budgets usually end up unintelligible from a visual standpoint. But Ex Machina offers a minimal and singular visual style and executes it flawlessly. Carefully-crafted art direction really deserves greater praise in an age of assaultive visual filmmaking.







PM sent to @Sluggah.
 
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With the 75th pick in the TDOS Cabin by the Lake Movie Draft, I select...

Ex Machina (2015):



Director: Alex Garland
Dir. of Photography: Rob Hardy
Writer(s): Alex Garland
Score: Geoff Barrow, Ben Salisbury
Cast: Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac
Genre(s): Science fiction, thriller, mystery, drama
Runtime: 1 hour, 48 minutes

IMDb Entry: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Write-up to come...

PM sent to @Sluggah.
Had a feeling that would be on your list and love how it adds to the overarching theme on your roster.
 
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With my 5th pick in the TDOS Cabin in the Woods Movie draft, I select:

Valerian and the City of 1,000 Planets (2017)

Valerian.jpg

IMDB Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2239822/?ref_=nv_sr_1

This film excited my imagination enough to add to my cabin collection. I especially enjoy the phasing city scene to open, as well as the various interspecies interactions aboard Alpha. Cool concepts, colorful cinematography, and nice pacing for a sci-fi action adventure make this an enjoyable, escapist experience.

This films has its flaws: rough dialogue makes the heroes a bit hard to root for, and although it is overly saturated with CGI, I return to this film often with layered subtlety unearthed upon subsequent viewings. The world created is immersive, visually rich, and keeps me thinking about it long after the movie is finished.



Quotes:
President of the World State Federation: [broadcast appearance] The Alpha intergalactic space station has reached critical mass in orbit. Its weight and size now poses a serious threat to mother Earth. In its great wisdom, the Central Committee has decided to use all resources necessary to release the space station from Earth's gravity. Its new course is set with the Magellan Current. Like the great explorer Magellan, the Alpha station will journey into the unknown. The symbol of our values and knowledge, it will carry a message of peace and unity to the furthest reaches of the universe. Our thoughts and prayers go with you. Godspeed, and good luck.

Doghan-Dagui: We know how humans work.
Doghan-Dagui: They're all so predictable.
Sergeant Laureline: Clearly you've never met a woman.
 
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I started this round planning to take one of two movies if they were available and had been debating with myself which one I really wanted more. And here they both are at my fingertips waiting to be nabbed

But as the hours dragged on and the pick got closer, I realized as much as I enjoy both, I'd rather risk them going to someone else next round than lose out (again) on one of the most polarizing movies I've ever seen.

Watchmen - 2009

IMG_6985.JPG

I went into Watchmen knowing nothing. I had never read nor really heard of the graphic novel on which it's based. The lone trailer I saw for it revealed nothing. The only recommendation I got for it from a friend amounted to: "Dude, you gotta see it."

Like most things, coming in blind like that was a godsend. I was completely engrossed by the story, enthralled by the visuals, and totally buzzed as the final credits rolled. It's one of the few movies in the upper echelons of my favorites list that I've actually gotten to see in theaters. Also one of only maybe a half dozen movies I went to see in theaters twice.

And it's all exceedingly weird for me to admit that considering: It's the lowest scored film on Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and Metacritic in my personal top 10; It's supremely polarizing; I'm not impressed by anything else Zack Snyder has made; Alan Moore and Watchmen fans have almost uniformly disowned the movie (apropo of nothing: Moore allegedly worships a snake god, so take that as you will); The Ultimate Cut and Tales of the Black Freighter additions are bloated and unnecessary highlighting just how vital reeling in Snyder's "vision" proved to be; the film doesn't come close to matching either the emotional gravitas nor socio-political impetus of the graphic novel nor could it ever hope to and is more of an homage rather than adaptation; And even after watching it twice in theaters I left wondering "so wait, do they actually have powers or are they just murderous psychopaths masquerading as super heroes who simply know how to break a man's arm in half with their fist?"

I really have no rebuttal for the above truths other than saying Snyder is an expert at making things visually interesting if nothing else; he has a clear affinity for the source material and jammed as much "authenticity" into the movie as possible; the editors were in full force to curb Snyder's worst tendencies and ambitions; Jackie Earle Haley puts in a masterful showing as Rorschach; and the one major change Snyder made involving the ending (No longer a Phantoon-looking, one-eyed alien tentacle monster teleporting into and immediately exploding in New York), I'll be honest fanboys, may not be as weirdly unique, referential to comic book lore, and memorable, but makes more sense to me within the context of the story.

It would be easier for my cinema Street creed if this spot belonged to something like The Dark Knight. I could swoon over Ledger's Joker, praise Nolan's cinematography and gritty realism, and call it the cultural touchstone in which a mere comic book movie was elevated to the lofty heights of a legitimate crime drama. And all that might be true.

But what is also true is the theatrical cut of Watchmen was the cinematic experience I always wished The Dark Knight would be for me.

Oh and one last thing: Dr Manhattan is naked. Get over it guys.
 
Zulu (1964)
images.jpeg
With so many movies to choose from, I thought I Would go with a favourite from my childhood. From 1964, the true story of a British regiment in Africa.
Starring Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, James Booth, Nigel Green and introducing Michael Caine. Directed by Cy Endfield.

Zulu
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058777/

I can't get anything more than the link to embed from my phone(which is acting up at the moment)
 
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Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
Time for some laughs. Frankly, I'm surprised this one is still here. I'm taking one of the funniest movies ever made:

Airplane! (1980)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/

I still don't know why a movie this silly and sophomoric is this funny. Maybe because it is this silly and sophomoric. ;)

I don't know that a lot needs to be said about this one. Likely one of the most quoted movies of all time and just stupid silly. But I love it. Some pretty inspired casting as well, including:
The movie is a parody on airplane disaster movies that in the opening scene riffs on Jaws. That right there sets the tone for the entire flick.

From wiki:

David Zucker explained that "the trick was to cast actors like Robert Stack, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, and Lloyd Bridges. These were people who, up to that time, had never done comedy. We thought they were much funnier than the comedians of that time were."

Additional casting added to the humor by casting actors against type. Barbara Billingsley, who had played June Cleaver in Leave It to Beaver, makes an appearance as a woman who announces she speaks jive and can translate for two black passengers who are otherwise unintelligible. Maureen McGovern appears as Sister Angelina, a spoof of the nun in Airport 1975, and a poke at her involvement as the singer of the Oscar-winning songs for the disaster films The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974). Jimmie Walker appears as the man opening the hood of the plane and checking the oil before takeoff; Walker also had a minor role in the air-disaster film, The Concorde ... Airport '79. Howard Jarvis, the property-tax rebel and author of California Proposition 13, used to curb excessive tax increases, plays the taxi passenger who is left at the curb with the meter running in the film's opening and closing scene. Ethel Merman—in her last film appearance—plays a shell-shocked male soldier who is convinced he is Ethel Merman. National Basketball Association star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar plays co-pilot Murdock, who is later revealed in dialogue to actually be Abdul-Jabbar living a secret double life.

For the "red zone/white zone" send-up of curbside terminal announcements in which public address announcers "Betty" and "Vernon" argue over the red and white zones, ZAZ went through the usual process of auditioning professional voice actors, but failed to find ones who could provide the desired verisimilitude. Instead, the filmmakers ultimately sought out and hired the real-life married couple who had recorded the announcement tapes which were then being used at Los Angeles airport.
And the funny movie lines just don't stop:

Rumack: You'd better tell the Captain we've got to land as soon as we can. This woman has to be gotten to a hospital.
Elaine Dickinson: A hospital? What is it?
Rumack: It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now.

Rumack: Can you fly this plane, and land it?
Ted Striker: Surely you can't be serious.
Rumack: I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.

Steve McCroskey: Johnny, what can you make out of this?
[Hands him the weather briefing]
Johnny: This? Why, I can make a hat or a brooch or a pterodactyl...

Steve McCroskey: Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

Male announcer: The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the red zone.
Female announcer: The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the red zone.
[Later]
Male announcer: The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone.
Female announcer: No, the white zone is for loading of passengers and there is no stopping in a RED zone.
Male announcer: The red zone has always been for loading and unloading of passengers. There's never stopping in a white zone.
Female announcer: Don't you tell me which zone is for loading, and which zone is for stopping!
Male announcer: Listen Betty, don't start up with your white zone **** again.
[Later]
Male announcer: There's just no stopping in a white zone.
Female announcer: Oh really, Vernon? Why pretend, we both know perfectly well what this is about. You want me to have an abortion.
Male announcer: It's really the only sensible thing to do, if its done safely. Therapeutically there's no danger involved.

Elaine Dickinson: Ladies and gentlemen, this is your stewardess speaking... We regret any inconvenience the sudden cabin movement might have caused, this is due to periodic air pockets we encountered, there's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you enjoy the rest of your flight... By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?

Reporter: What kind of plane is it?
Johnny: Oh, it's a big pretty white plane with red stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels and it looks like a big Tylenol.

Steve McCroskey: [to Mrs. Oveur]Now your husband and the others are alive, but unconscious.
Johnny: Just like Gerald Ford.

Airplane sniffing glue.jpg airplane unplug.png airplane.jpg airplane-movie-image-speak-jive-01.jpg airplane-still-07_758_426_81_s_c1.jpg
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Time for some laughs. Frankly, I'm surprised this one is still here. I'm taking one of the funniest movies ever made:

Airplane! (1980)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/

I still don't know why a movie this silly and sophomoric is this funny. Maybe because it is this silly and sophomoric. ;)

I don't know that a lot needs to be said about this one. Likely one of the most quoted movies of all time and just stupid silly. But I love it. Some pretty inspired casting as well, including:
The movie is a parody on airplane disaster movies that in the opening scene riffs on Jaws. That right there sets the tone for the entire flick.

From wiki:



And the funny movie lines just don't stop:

Rumack: You'd better tell the Captain we've got to land as soon as we can. This woman has to be gotten to a hospital.
Elaine Dickinson: A hospital? What is it?
Rumack: It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now.

Rumack: Can you fly this plane, and land it?
Ted Striker: Surely you can't be serious.
Rumack: I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.

Steve McCroskey: Johnny, what can you make out of this?
[Hands him the weather briefing]
Johnny: This? Why, I can make a hat or a brooch or a pterodactyl...

Steve McCroskey: Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

Male announcer: The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the red zone.
Female announcer: The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the red zone.
[Later]
Male announcer: The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone.
Female announcer: No, the white zone is for loading of passengers and there is no stopping in a RED zone.
Male announcer: The red zone has always been for loading and unloading of passengers. There's never stopping in a white zone.
Female announcer: Don't you tell me which zone is for loading, and which zone is for stopping!
Male announcer: Listen Betty, don't start up with your white zone **** again.
[Later]
Male announcer: There's just no stopping in a white zone.
Female announcer: Oh really, Vernon? Why pretend, we both know perfectly well what this is about. You want me to have an abortion.
Male announcer: It's really the only sensible thing to do, if its done safely. Therapeutically there's no danger involved.

Elaine Dickinson: Ladies and gentlemen, this is your stewardess speaking... We regret any inconvenience the sudden cabin movement might have caused, this is due to periodic air pockets we encountered, there's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you enjoy the rest of your flight... By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?

Reporter: What kind of plane is it?
Johnny: Oh, it's a big pretty white plane with red stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels and it looks like a big Tylenol.

Steve McCroskey: [to Mrs. Oveur]Now your husband and the others are alive, but unconscious.
Johnny: Just like Gerald Ford.

View attachment 7952 View attachment 7953 View attachment 7954 View attachment 7955 View attachment 7956
I wondered how much longer this one was gonna be on the board. I debated between this and Blazing Saddles, but in the end it came down to which film had the one scene that dissolves me into unexplained laughter every time. :)

Nice pick.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
The Breakfast Club - 1985

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088847/

1530078310023.png

Over the years, I've probably watched this movie 20 times. Each time I have, I find something else to think about.

There's no doubt that John Hughes was a genius. I think he outdid himself with this film. Five kids with nothing in common are forced to spend a whole Saturday together in detention. Those kids (played by Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall and Ally Sheedy) are a microcosm of high school society - the rich kid, the criminal, the jock, the brain, and the weirdo. To me, the real treasure in this film is how, once they get past their stereotypical identities, they manage to bond together to face a common adversary. Hughes worked on at least two levels throughout the film - the obvious and then the much more subtle but actually much larger statements about society in general. I think that's why I can watch it over and over again. I remember hearing a rumor that John Hughes wrote the film with certain actors in mind for the roles. I believe it. The chemistry between them is part of what makes this film work. I hope Hollywood never makes the mistake of trying to "reimagine" it with different actors.

If you haven't seen this film, you won't understand its appeal. If you have, I think you know why I'm grabbing it for my cabin.
 
Time for some laughs. Frankly, I'm surprised this one is still here. I'm taking one of the funniest movies ever made:

Airplane! (1980)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/

I still don't know why a movie this silly and sophomoric is this funny. Maybe because it is this silly and sophomoric. ;)

I don't know that a lot needs to be said about this one. Likely one of the most quoted movies of all time and just stupid silly. But I love it. Some pretty inspired casting as well, including:
The movie is a parody on airplane disaster movies that in the opening scene riffs on Jaws. That right there sets the tone for the entire flick.

From wiki:



And the funny movie lines just don't stop:

Rumack: You'd better tell the Captain we've got to land as soon as we can. This woman has to be gotten to a hospital.
Elaine Dickinson: A hospital? What is it?
Rumack: It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now.

Rumack: Can you fly this plane, and land it?
Ted Striker: Surely you can't be serious.
Rumack: I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.

Steve McCroskey: Johnny, what can you make out of this?
[Hands him the weather briefing]
Johnny: This? Why, I can make a hat or a brooch or a pterodactyl...

Steve McCroskey: Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

Male announcer: The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the red zone.
Female announcer: The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the red zone.
[Later]
Male announcer: The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone.
Female announcer: No, the white zone is for loading of passengers and there is no stopping in a RED zone.
Male announcer: The red zone has always been for loading and unloading of passengers. There's never stopping in a white zone.
Female announcer: Don't you tell me which zone is for loading, and which zone is for stopping!
Male announcer: Listen Betty, don't start up with your white zone **** again.
[Later]
Male announcer: There's just no stopping in a white zone.
Female announcer: Oh really, Vernon? Why pretend, we both know perfectly well what this is about. You want me to have an abortion.
Male announcer: It's really the only sensible thing to do, if its done safely. Therapeutically there's no danger involved.

Elaine Dickinson: Ladies and gentlemen, this is your stewardess speaking... We regret any inconvenience the sudden cabin movement might have caused, this is due to periodic air pockets we encountered, there's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you enjoy the rest of your flight... By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?

Reporter: What kind of plane is it?
Johnny: Oh, it's a big pretty white plane with red stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels and it looks like a big Tylenol.

Steve McCroskey: [to Mrs. Oveur]Now your husband and the others are alive, but unconscious.
Johnny: Just like Gerald Ford.

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Bonus points for (copilot) Jabar being upset of kid bashing his defense.
 
For my 6th pick I select Guillermo del Torrero's Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
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El Laberinto del Fauno “Pan’s Labyrinth” is a true tale of fantasy and imagery. It mixes the fantasy world of a small girl and the cruelty of Franco’s fascist Spain in a very subtle manner. This film captures all the magical elements in a fairy tale and it is presented in an exquisite and elegant manner by Guillermo del Toro. The waking world he creates is violent and banal and stands juxtaposed with the magic of the labyrinth.

Fiendishly dark, menacingly brutal, and wonderfully elaborate. This film never really lets you relax; instead it grips you firmly, yet unsettlingly, on the edge of your seat and compels you to watch. Through the eyes of war and the eyes of a child this masterpiece weaves its lingering spell of legend, creatures and magic. Superbly acted the story quickly draws you in; from the beautiful fantasy and richness of the underworld to the graphic nightmare and gritty reality of war, every frame is utterly captivating. A haunting soundtrack, which includes the eerie lullaby from Mercedes, complements the mood and atmosphere of the film wonderfully.
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This film is a work of art that I can watch over and over like walking a labyrinth each trip through reveals new gleanings and reflections.
 
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The Breakfast Club - 1985

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088847/



Over the years, I've probably watched this movie 20 times. Each time I have, I find something else to think about.

There's no doubt that John Hughes was a genius. I think he outdid himself with this film. Five kids with nothing in common are forced to spend a whole Saturday together in detention. Those kids (played by Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall and Ally Sheedy) are a microcosm of high school society - the rich kid, the criminal, the jock, the brain, and the weirdo. To me, the real treasure in this film is how, once they get past their stereotypical identities, they manage to bond together to face a common adversary. Hughes worked on at least two levels throughout the film - the obvious and then the much more subtle but actually much larger statements about society in general. I think that's why I can watch it over and over again. I remember hearing a rumor that John Hughes wrote the film with certain actors in mind for the roles. I believe it. The chemistry between them is part of what makes this film work. I hope Hollywood never makes the mistake of trying to "reimagine" it with different actors.

If you haven't seen this film, you won't understand its appeal. If you have, I think you know why I'm grabbing it for my cabin.
NOOOOO!!! I didn’t expect anyone to take this! Day ruined.