Friday, August 1, 2008

seven of cinematical's seven


Every now and then, Cinematical.com makes a themed list. Below are my favorite seven.

1. Best Adapted Screenplays (1997-2007)
Included are some of my own choices: Fight Club, Children of Men, L.A. Confidential, and of course, Adaptation. Another choice of mine would be Wonder Boys. I freaking love that script.

2. Funniest Horror Movies
This list is kind of obvious, but it's a good list to have, especially because any list with Army of Darkness, Buffy the Vampire Slaye and Shaun of the Dead is worth reading. (Would it be blasphemous to want Hitchcock's Psycho on this list? It hasn't aged well...)

3. Hottest Hunks of Horror
Christian Bale, Timothy Olyphant, and... Christopher Walken?


4. Great Movie Conversations
What a wonderful list! I've never seen Dinner with Andre, which is everyone's first choice for a list like this, but also included are Conversations with Other Women, Clerks and Before Sunset, all of which I have seen and loved. (Interesting that they put down the sequel to Before Sunrise. I prefer the sequel, but only because it's the "what happens after everything that happened" aspect of a story. The prologue. But I do think that the conversation in Before Sunrise is superior -- it's more philosophical, more personal, driven more by curiosity than longing.)

5. Recasting Star Wars
Ryan Gosling as Luke Skywalker? Rosario Dawson as Princess Leia? Christopher Walken as the Emperor? I might need some time to think of who I would pick... but I would imagine that Gosling would reinvent Skywalker the same way Christian Bale reinvented Bruce Wayne, so I agree with that pick.

6. An Outsider's Guide to the Symbolism of Superhero Cinema
Who knew comics had layers? Oh, that's right. They're obvious metaphors, but still, this is an interesting list, especially for people who aren't fans of either comics or comic film adaptations. Included are Superman, The Hulk, Fantastic Four and X-Men.


7. Most Quotable Movies
Probably my favorite list, but only because I find it the most fun. I find myself quoting movies without even thinking about it. In class, I once said, "And that's all I have to say about that..." And my student looked confused and said, "Forrest Gump?" There are no surprises on this list, and it includes The Big Lebowski, Anchorman, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and of course, The Princess Bride. My personal list would be a bit different. I can quote Sliding Doors, Almost Famous, and It's a Wonderful Life backwards and forwards. I can jump into those movies at any point and quote the next line. It's kind of sad, actually.

And just for fun... Haikus about Horror Movies
Here's Johnny's great plan:
Winter in haunted hotel!
Just Overlook ghosts.
The Shining

2 comments:

Goddessdster said...

HOLY CRAP
You're the only person I know who's seen Sliding Doors as well. I saw it about 52 times when it first came on cable. I was obsessed. It was...kinda sad, actually, but I still love that movie.

And yeah, don't actually know you, but still.

dying alone said...

Haha, I had SUCH a crush on John Hannah when it came out. I never cared too much for Lydia (she's just too obviously evil) and Jerry was too much of a slimeball, but John Hannah is really make that movie great.

My favorite line of his: "Do you like diamonds or sapphires?" Cracks me up every time. First runner up is: "In fact, they should be called The Fetals."