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Aug. 26th, 2010 11:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stonebenderI feel a little like I'm talking to myself answering this meme. I never actually authored one before, and thought it might be fun. It hasn't exactly caught fire around here but, oh well. I did try not to think of my answers while writing this thing. So I may not have the most interesting answers. Here goes.
.
1. What movies do you like to talk about?
I pretty much like to talk about movies. I think the movies I like talking about the most are either the really bad ones or the ones that just missed. I love trying to figure out what went wrong. Where did the film loose me? I did get a degree in dramatic art, so I often like to think of how I could fixed a bad movie.
2. Are there any director's you particularly follow?
Although I'm not even sure he'll ever direct another movie Bill Forsyth. He wrote and directed a favorite movie of mine Local Hero. Others are John Sayles, Sam Mendes, Albert Brooks. I think those are my biggies. Then there's the usual Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, James L. , Barry Levinson, Jonathan Demme.
3. Are there any actors that will motivate you to see a film that wouldn't interest you?
Kevin Spacey, Ed Norton, Alan Arkin, Holly Hunter, Angelina Jolie, Laura Linney. To some extent it depends on the kind of movie. I am probably more likely to go see an action film with Bruce Willis than one with Jean-Claude Van Damme. However, I wouldn't say that Bruce Willis motivates me to see a movie.
4. Are there any movies that you wish you hadn't seen?
Eraserhead, Seven. There is a type of horror film that has become popular in the last 10 years or so that go a little too far for me. I haven't actually seen them but I think the Saw series is like that. I don't really want to go where it wants to take me.
5. What genres do you particularly like?
Well, science fiction obviously although there aren't many science fiction movies that I really love Blade Runner, Silent Running, and The Day the Earth Stood Still come to mind. I do love small, quiet little movies. For example Smilla's Sense of Snow, Schultze Gets the Blues, Frozen River. Der Himmel über Berlin. I also love underdog movies.
6. What genres do you avoid like the plague?
I think I was shooting for too much drama with the term "avoid like the plague", but I do avoid Westerns, horror films, comedies where the point seems to be mean-spirited, and all of the I gotta get laid garbage.
7. Are there any movies that are really popular that you just don't get?
Million Dollar Baby. I understand the movie I don't get why it's so popular. For me it has absolutely no basis in reality. In fact it manipulates how people with disabilities are treated to make its plot work. And for me it's an evil message: The lives of people with disabilities are miserable and tormented and it would be a mercy to "end their suffering".
8. Are there any movies that you love that most of your friends haven't seen?
Local Hero, and maybe Matewan
9. Are there any movies that you thought you would hate, but ended up really enjoying?
Stranger Than Fiction I do not care for Will Ferrell and although he did nothing to add to this movie. He managed not to stink it up.
10. Are there any scene's or monologues that have stayed with you long after you've seen the movie?
A few: there's the Crispin's day speech in Kenneth Branaugh's adaption of Henry V. I also really like a short speech that Albert Brooks does in Broadcast News about the nature of the devil.
Another from Capricorn One Hal Holbrook as Dr. James Kelloway: "Okay, here it is. I have to start by saying that if there was any other way, if there was even a slight chance of another alternative, I would give anything not to be here with you now. Anything. Bru, how long have we known each other? Sixteen years. That's how long. Sixteen years. You should have seen yourself then. You looked like you just walked out of a Wheaties box. And me, all sweaty palms and deadly serious. I told everybody about this dream I had of conquering the new frontier, and they all looked at me like I was nuts. You looked at me and said, yes. I remember when you told me Kay was pregnant. We went out and got crocked. I remember when Charles was born. We went out and got crocked again. The two of us. Captain Terrific and the Mad Doctor, talking about reaching the stars, and the bartender telling us maybe we'd had enough. Sixteen years. And then Armstrong stepped out on the Moon, and we cried. We were so proud. Willis, you and Walker, you came in about then. Both bright and talented wise-asses, looked at me in my wash-and-wear shirt carrying on this hot love affair with my slide-rule, and even you were caught up in what we'd done. I remember when Glenn made his first orbit in Mercury, they put up television sets in Grand Central Station, and tens of thousands of people missed their trains to watch. You know, when Apollo 17 landed on the Moon, people were calling up the networks and *****ing because reruns of I Love Lucy were cancelled. Reruns, for Christ's sake! I could understand if it was the new Lucy show. After all, what's a walk on the Moon? But reruns! Oh, geez! And then suddenly everybody started talking about how much everything cost. Was it really worth twenty billion to go to another planet? What about cancer? What about the slums? How much does it cost? How much does any dream cost, for Christ's sake? Since when is there an accountant for ideas? You know who was at the launch today? Not the President. The Vice-President, that's who. The Vice-President and his plump wife. The President was busy. He's not busy. He's just a little bit scared. He sat there two months ago and put his feet up on Woodrow Wilson's desk, and he said, Jim. Make it good. Congress is on my back. They're looking for a reason to cancel the program. We can't afford another screw-up. Make it good. You have my every good wish. His every good wish! I got his sanctimonious Vice President! That's what I got! So, there we are. After all those hopes and all that dreaming, he sits there, with those flags behind his chair, and tells me we can't afford a screw-up. And guess what! We had a screw-up! A first-class, bona-fide, made-in-America screw-up! The good people Con-Amalgamate delivered a life-support system cheap enough so they could make a profit on the deal. Works out fine for everybody. Con-Amalgamate makes money. We have our life-support system. Everything's peachy. Except they made a little bit too much profit. We found out two months ago it won't work. You guys would all be dead in three weeks. It's as simple as that. So, all I have to do is report that and scrub the mission. Congress has its excuse, the President still has his desk, and we have no more program. What's sixteen years? Your actual drop in the bucket! All right. That's the end of the speech. Now, we're getting to what they call the moment of truth. Come with me. I want to show you something."
There are lots of other scenes and monologues but I have to stop somewhere. :-)
11. Any movies that you think should have a sequel?
Generally I don't care for sequels. There are a few exceptions, but they're pretty rare. I guess Firefly is a movie I'd like to see a sequel to someday. Mainly because I wish the television show was still on television.
12. Any movies that the sequel ruined?
Although the sequels haven't exactly ruined Star Wars they have dulled my enthusiasm for the original.
13. What movies do you think about from your childhood?
Le Ballon Rouge, Mary Poppins, The Glass Slipper
14. What movies can you watch again and again?
Pretty much any movie that I'd be willing to see at all.
15. Any cool chase scenes?
Okay let me get out of the way my pet peeve about chase scenes. It drives me absolutely nuts when a person being cased does stupid things like run down the middle of the street when a car is chasing them. If you're being chased by a car start running where car can't follow you like up a steep hill or down a narrow alley. The last place you want to run away from a car it down the middle of the street! Which is why I like the early chase scene in Rambo: First Blood. Not that I recommend the movie in any other way. I still like the first chase scene in The Matrix. Steve McQueen running away from the Nazis in The Great Escape. Then there's Banlieue 13 my introduction to parkour. Holy cow what those guys could do!
16. Any really hot scenes?
Outside of a couple porn movies, the sex scene in Coming Home. The train scene in Risky Business.
17. Any cool fights?
Aside from HK which is sort of its own category, the bar fight scene in Firefly. The fights in Elektra. I like a lot of fights that Harrison Ford does. He has a real talent for fighting like someone who is not used to fighting which endears him to me.
18. Any movies that really changed how you think about something?
You know I wrote this question and I can't come up with an answer.
19. Any good adaptations of a book to the screen?
I thought The Puppetmasters did a good job of adapting a book. My theory is that novels are a bit too long to really be adapting well. Short stories seem to work better for adaption to film. Stand by Me being a pretty good example.
20. What movies make you really laugh?
Most Marx brothers films. Except for the aquarium scene, A Fish called Wanda. Monty Python films, except for a couple of exceptions. Then there are the films that I don't believe were intended to make you laugh, like The Core
21. What movies get you weepy?
The Miracle Worker especially when Helen Keller learns the word water. Lots of of underdog triumphs against all odds like Rudy, or Hoosiers. Titanic
22. Any movies that you're a little embarrassed that you like so much?
I included this one because I thought people might have fun answering it. I don't think I really get embarrassed by anything I like . I suppose I'm a little embarrassed at how much I like the underdog films, but that's not really so.
.
1. What movies do you like to talk about?
I pretty much like to talk about movies. I think the movies I like talking about the most are either the really bad ones or the ones that just missed. I love trying to figure out what went wrong. Where did the film loose me? I did get a degree in dramatic art, so I often like to think of how I could fixed a bad movie.
2. Are there any director's you particularly follow?
Although I'm not even sure he'll ever direct another movie Bill Forsyth. He wrote and directed a favorite movie of mine Local Hero. Others are John Sayles, Sam Mendes, Albert Brooks. I think those are my biggies. Then there's the usual Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, James L. , Barry Levinson, Jonathan Demme.
3. Are there any actors that will motivate you to see a film that wouldn't interest you?
Kevin Spacey, Ed Norton, Alan Arkin, Holly Hunter, Angelina Jolie, Laura Linney. To some extent it depends on the kind of movie. I am probably more likely to go see an action film with Bruce Willis than one with Jean-Claude Van Damme. However, I wouldn't say that Bruce Willis motivates me to see a movie.
4. Are there any movies that you wish you hadn't seen?
Eraserhead, Seven. There is a type of horror film that has become popular in the last 10 years or so that go a little too far for me. I haven't actually seen them but I think the Saw series is like that. I don't really want to go where it wants to take me.
5. What genres do you particularly like?
Well, science fiction obviously although there aren't many science fiction movies that I really love Blade Runner, Silent Running, and The Day the Earth Stood Still come to mind. I do love small, quiet little movies. For example Smilla's Sense of Snow, Schultze Gets the Blues, Frozen River. Der Himmel über Berlin. I also love underdog movies.
6. What genres do you avoid like the plague?
I think I was shooting for too much drama with the term "avoid like the plague", but I do avoid Westerns, horror films, comedies where the point seems to be mean-spirited, and all of the I gotta get laid garbage.
7. Are there any movies that are really popular that you just don't get?
Million Dollar Baby. I understand the movie I don't get why it's so popular. For me it has absolutely no basis in reality. In fact it manipulates how people with disabilities are treated to make its plot work. And for me it's an evil message: The lives of people with disabilities are miserable and tormented and it would be a mercy to "end their suffering".
8. Are there any movies that you love that most of your friends haven't seen?
Local Hero, and maybe Matewan
9. Are there any movies that you thought you would hate, but ended up really enjoying?
Stranger Than Fiction I do not care for Will Ferrell and although he did nothing to add to this movie. He managed not to stink it up.
10. Are there any scene's or monologues that have stayed with you long after you've seen the movie?
A few: there's the Crispin's day speech in Kenneth Branaugh's adaption of Henry V. I also really like a short speech that Albert Brooks does in Broadcast News about the nature of the devil.
Another from Capricorn One Hal Holbrook as Dr. James Kelloway: "Okay, here it is. I have to start by saying that if there was any other way, if there was even a slight chance of another alternative, I would give anything not to be here with you now. Anything. Bru, how long have we known each other? Sixteen years. That's how long. Sixteen years. You should have seen yourself then. You looked like you just walked out of a Wheaties box. And me, all sweaty palms and deadly serious. I told everybody about this dream I had of conquering the new frontier, and they all looked at me like I was nuts. You looked at me and said, yes. I remember when you told me Kay was pregnant. We went out and got crocked. I remember when Charles was born. We went out and got crocked again. The two of us. Captain Terrific and the Mad Doctor, talking about reaching the stars, and the bartender telling us maybe we'd had enough. Sixteen years. And then Armstrong stepped out on the Moon, and we cried. We were so proud. Willis, you and Walker, you came in about then. Both bright and talented wise-asses, looked at me in my wash-and-wear shirt carrying on this hot love affair with my slide-rule, and even you were caught up in what we'd done. I remember when Glenn made his first orbit in Mercury, they put up television sets in Grand Central Station, and tens of thousands of people missed their trains to watch. You know, when Apollo 17 landed on the Moon, people were calling up the networks and *****ing because reruns of I Love Lucy were cancelled. Reruns, for Christ's sake! I could understand if it was the new Lucy show. After all, what's a walk on the Moon? But reruns! Oh, geez! And then suddenly everybody started talking about how much everything cost. Was it really worth twenty billion to go to another planet? What about cancer? What about the slums? How much does it cost? How much does any dream cost, for Christ's sake? Since when is there an accountant for ideas? You know who was at the launch today? Not the President. The Vice-President, that's who. The Vice-President and his plump wife. The President was busy. He's not busy. He's just a little bit scared. He sat there two months ago and put his feet up on Woodrow Wilson's desk, and he said, Jim. Make it good. Congress is on my back. They're looking for a reason to cancel the program. We can't afford another screw-up. Make it good. You have my every good wish. His every good wish! I got his sanctimonious Vice President! That's what I got! So, there we are. After all those hopes and all that dreaming, he sits there, with those flags behind his chair, and tells me we can't afford a screw-up. And guess what! We had a screw-up! A first-class, bona-fide, made-in-America screw-up! The good people Con-Amalgamate delivered a life-support system cheap enough so they could make a profit on the deal. Works out fine for everybody. Con-Amalgamate makes money. We have our life-support system. Everything's peachy. Except they made a little bit too much profit. We found out two months ago it won't work. You guys would all be dead in three weeks. It's as simple as that. So, all I have to do is report that and scrub the mission. Congress has its excuse, the President still has his desk, and we have no more program. What's sixteen years? Your actual drop in the bucket! All right. That's the end of the speech. Now, we're getting to what they call the moment of truth. Come with me. I want to show you something."
There are lots of other scenes and monologues but I have to stop somewhere. :-)
11. Any movies that you think should have a sequel?
Generally I don't care for sequels. There are a few exceptions, but they're pretty rare. I guess Firefly is a movie I'd like to see a sequel to someday. Mainly because I wish the television show was still on television.
12. Any movies that the sequel ruined?
Although the sequels haven't exactly ruined Star Wars they have dulled my enthusiasm for the original.
13. What movies do you think about from your childhood?
Le Ballon Rouge, Mary Poppins, The Glass Slipper
14. What movies can you watch again and again?
Pretty much any movie that I'd be willing to see at all.
15. Any cool chase scenes?
Okay let me get out of the way my pet peeve about chase scenes. It drives me absolutely nuts when a person being cased does stupid things like run down the middle of the street when a car is chasing them. If you're being chased by a car start running where car can't follow you like up a steep hill or down a narrow alley. The last place you want to run away from a car it down the middle of the street! Which is why I like the early chase scene in Rambo: First Blood. Not that I recommend the movie in any other way. I still like the first chase scene in The Matrix. Steve McQueen running away from the Nazis in The Great Escape. Then there's Banlieue 13 my introduction to parkour. Holy cow what those guys could do!
16. Any really hot scenes?
Outside of a couple porn movies, the sex scene in Coming Home. The train scene in Risky Business.
17. Any cool fights?
Aside from HK which is sort of its own category, the bar fight scene in Firefly. The fights in Elektra. I like a lot of fights that Harrison Ford does. He has a real talent for fighting like someone who is not used to fighting which endears him to me.
18. Any movies that really changed how you think about something?
You know I wrote this question and I can't come up with an answer.
19. Any good adaptations of a book to the screen?
I thought The Puppetmasters did a good job of adapting a book. My theory is that novels are a bit too long to really be adapting well. Short stories seem to work better for adaption to film. Stand by Me being a pretty good example.
20. What movies make you really laugh?
Most Marx brothers films. Except for the aquarium scene, A Fish called Wanda. Monty Python films, except for a couple of exceptions. Then there are the films that I don't believe were intended to make you laugh, like The Core
21. What movies get you weepy?
The Miracle Worker especially when Helen Keller learns the word water. Lots of of underdog triumphs against all odds like Rudy, or Hoosiers. Titanic
22. Any movies that you're a little embarrassed that you like so much?
I included this one because I thought people might have fun answering it. I don't think I really get embarrassed by anything I like . I suppose I'm a little embarrassed at how much I like the underdog films, but that's not really so.
