Tuesday, June 25, 2013

At the Movies



At the movies:
When I was a kid, and subsequently a teenager, I practically lived in the cinema. Of course in those days you didn’t have to give up eating to pay for a ticket—Phil and I just paid $16.75 each to see Star Trek in 3D! Froze my Scottish blood it did. Despite that, I love the movies, the ideal escape from reality. You can experience an earthquake, an exploding volcano, a burning building, a fight for survival in an arena or a jungle, slug it out with James Bond, all from the safety of your cinema seat—and in some instances, like the multi-plex where a bunch of fellow authors and I saw ‘The Proposal’ starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds—you can have the movie and a meal with wine at the same time!
I have so many favorite films in so many different genres from drama, romance to action/adventure, through mystery, suspense and horror it’s hard to pick from the bunch, but standouts are:

Anything with Brendan Fraser…

All About Eve’ starring Bette Davis at her bitchiest best as a hard bitten Broadway star Margo Channing and Ann Baxter as Eve Harrington, the scheming understudy determined to take over both Margo’s career and personal life. The movie is famous for the classic line “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night!” delivered by Bette to a party crowd and also famous for Marilyn Monroe’s first screen appearance in a bit part. It received an unprecedented 14 Oscar nominations and won best picture of 1950. Of course, I wasn’t around for the premiere.

Anything with Daniel Craig…

A Star is Born’—the original starring Judy Garland and James Mason, not the messy remake with Barbra Streisand. Judy should have won an Oscar for her portrayal of Esther Blodgett a.k.a Vicki Lester a small time singer who rises to stardom with the help of superstar Norman Maine—and of course and incredible amount of talent. The Oscar went to Grace Kelly for ‘The Country Girl’. No comment. Judy singing ‘The Man That Got Away’ is one of the many, many highlights of the movie. I wasn’t around for that premiere either.

Anything with Hugh Jackman…

Chicago’ I loved this movie because of the direction by Rob Marshall. I already loved the score by Kander and Ebb and the totally crazy story about two murderesses who meet while in jail awaiting trial. Marshall managed to make Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger look like champion singer/dancers and the famous numbers ‘All That Jazz’ and ‘Cell Block Tango’ took on a new dimension under his direction. I could’ve been around for this premiere but I wasn’t invited.

Anything with Michael Fassbender

Midnight in Paris’ I’m not a Woody Allen fan—‘Stardust Memories’ is one of the few movies I left before the end—but his terrific script and direction of Midnight in Paris, along with a truly haunting score, made this my favorite film of recent years. I’ve seen it five times and could certainly watch it again and again. Even after knowing the initial plot surprises I still smile when Gil, played by Owen Wilson, realizes that the man playing at the piano bar is actually Cole Porter and the young couple who befriend him is F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. If you haven’t seen this one, do yourselves a favor and rent the DVD, pour a glass of Cabernet, put your feet up and enjoy being whisked off into a fantasy world of pure delight.

And after seeing ‘Man of Steel’, anything with Henry Cavill…

Th-that’s all folks!




4 comments:

  1. There are so many movies I'd like to see. I didn't see 'Midnight' though I'd like to. I kinda envy people who see lots of films, but Momma and I can't seem to get ourselves to go for one reason or another: One being the price, as JP mentions (a gamble unless we know a lot about the movie already) otherwise we're doing something else, likely something less interesting. Where does the time go?

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  2. My kid was telling me about Midnight in Paris, and I still haven;t seen it. This reminds me to put it on my list.

    Garce

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  3. Hi, JP,

    I detect a certain pattern in your "anything with..." comments!

    Brendan Fraser's definitely a favorite of mine, though. "Blast from the Past" is one that really sticks in my mind.

    I've actually never seen "A Star is Born" or "Midnight in Paris". Put 'em on the list!

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  4. Sci-fi, epics with monsters, fights with aliens, spy or super-hero movies with huge explosions. And of course the occasional porn with the husband. That about sums up my movie tastes. Only rarely I'll enjoy a comedy or a quieter film, but not usually. I've never seen a "chick-flick", and my daughter usually has to watch those alone or with friends, since her 3 brothers have had her make them watch too many of them for them to allow it to happen again.

    I'd usually rather read a good book...or write one.
    Now if we're talking TV, the only thing I ever watch is sci-fi, so Dr. Who, Star Trek, etc. Call me when you're watching it and I'm there.

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