Take your pick — there’s The Phantom Menace or there’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, either of which could certainly take the prize for being the worst movie to come from George Lucas in his 40 years producing films. Well, maybe not worse than More American Graffiti. But both films were far bigger creative and franchise disappointments than Howard the Duck (financial success is another story, of course), and so they have a relative sort of wretchedness that places them in the bottom of Lucas’ Sarlacc pit of a career. Even if you’re one of those defend-to-the-end Star Wars fanboys who will argue the pros of Menace, at least then consider Willow to be worse than Howard the Duck. The blatant Lord of the Rings rip-off has its historical relevance, but looking back on it now, it’s even more dated than Howard. And regardless of how groundbreaking it was, Willow’s visual effects don’t hold up quite as well as Howard’s old-fashioned, and oft-celebrated craftsmanship. But that’s another point…
2. The Special Effects Are Technically Brilliant
3. The Duck Suit is Still Better Than Most CGI
4. Parallels, Puns and Playful Philosophy
Some fans of the original Howard the Duck comics could argue that the duck suit is hardly the worst offense of unfaithfulness. Other complaints might be the alteration of Beverly’s career or the occasional sacrifice of the comic’s tone in order to pander to younger audiences. But real sticklers may take issue with Howard’s origin, the inclusion of Duckworld (which did come from the comics but wasn’t Howard creator Steve Gerber’s idea of what the character’s home world was like) and the punny parallels that came with it. Yet for those of us who love corny jokes and puns, the idea of an alternate world where everything’s the same, just with descendants of ducks rather than apes, is a lot of fun. It’s the same appreciation that allowed me to enjoy the ska scene and the similarly parallel worlds of The Flintstones and Dinosaurs and the parodies in MAD Magazine. In the first few minutes, we get treated to the following cheesy but delicious sight and audio gags: a Rolling Egg magazine, a Playduck magazine, movie posters for “Splahsdance,” “Breeders of the Lost Stork” and My Little Chickadee (starring W.C. Fowls and Mae Nest), and commercials for feather fungus treatment and the Crazy Eddie spoof “Crazy Webby.” This, plus the opening credit narration and theory of Duckworld evolution were enjoyable to a kid in the midst of learning about Darwin and pondering the existence of alternate worlds.
5. Jeffrey Jones as Dr. Jenning/Dark Overlord
6. The Diner Scene
Although it’s mostly thanks to Jones that this scene is so memorable, it’s not just his performance alone that makes it so terrific. Every time I watch the movie, I look forward to the entire episode, from Jones/Jenning/Dark Overlord’s exposition to the waitress’ interactions with the “family” to Howard’s pie and quack-fu fight with a bunch of rednecks. And I will always recommend the movie for this scene alone. It includes a lot of disturbing elements, such as Beverly’s claim that she’s Howard’s girlfriend and the angry mob’s desire to kill and cook a talking duck man, that might have worked better had Howard been represented as an animated character rather than a guy in a suit (bestiality and homicide is just fine in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Looney Tunes cartoons), but it’s also one of the weirdest and funniest scenes from any comic book adaptation ever.
7. Lea Thompson as Beverly Switzler
8. Cherry Bomb and the Howard the Duck soundtrack
9. It’s For Kids
10. It’s Not Redundant
Unlike some comic book adaptations, Howard the Duck isn’t a straight lift from the pages of the source material, and it’s better off for it. Some fans of the comic may be annoyed with Howard’s appearance or Beverly’s occupation or the absence of any of Howard’s usual foes, but those of us who saw the movie first can appreciate the differences, because these allow for a better introduction to and curiosity about the comic. In a way, it’s to the original Marvel series as The Incredibles is to the graphic novel of Watchmen (though it’s certainly not anywhere near as smart nor well-crafted as The Incredibles).
For a list of complete winners and the other nominees, go here. (It's scary how quickly Wikipedia is updated with information...) And for additional reading, I recommend this recap from I Watch Stuff. It's very funny (Sophia Loren eats babies, apparently).
The good news is... the Oscars didn't suck this year. In fact, there was a lot to recommend.
:02: Host Hugh Jackman starts his Oscar tribute medley (complete with the line "swim in a sea of excrement" during a serenade to Kate Winslet). The "low-budget" set was just as entertaining as some of the numbers (especially the Benjamin Button cut-out and the lime green Frost/Nixon lawn chairs), which included "the Craiglist dancers" (!!!) and a Frost/Nixon duet with Anne Hathaway. While dancing with Hathaway's Nixon, Jackman delivered one of my favorite lines of the evening: "Oh, Nixon..."
:07: The best part of the opening? Jackman's tribute to The Reader. He starts off with the line, "The Reader, I haven't seen The Reader" and goes into a full-on futuristic dance number with people in shiny leotards -- which has absolutely nothing to do with the post-WWII Nazi Germany film.
0:12: I'm not quite sure why the Oscars decided to hand out the acting awards by five fellow winners -- perhaps to honor the craft rather than any one person -- and I'm still undecided on how I feel about it. I have to admit it, though, the Best Supporting Actress presenters (Eva Marie Saint, Goldie Hawn, Angelica Houston, Whoopi Goldberg, and Tilda Swinton) had the best material. It was nice to see the nominated actresses already in tears (Viola Davis broke my heart!), humbled by the kind words spoken by these past winners. (Of course, all of the nominated male actors were nowhere near this level of touched...)
:22: Tina Fey and Steve Martin present the best original and best adapted screenplay awards. (For the record, I'm sad that In Bruges didn't win best original screenplay, but the screenwriter for Milk, Dustin Lance Black, gave an appropriately touching and hopeful acceptance speech.) Fey and Martin are one of the highlights of the evening -- and possibly any Oscars ever. I, for one, appreciated that writers were presenting the awards, and so the intelligence of their act really reflected how important words are to movies.
INT. KODAK THEATRE - OSCAR NIGHT
The two incredible presenters walk out to center stage.
The crowd is amazed by the star power and beauty of the two presenters.
The audience members are too stunned to leap to their feet.
The crowd is thrilled at seeing the presenters, except for those consumed by bitter jealousy.
The audience breaks into wild, uncontrollable applause.
They also gave us this great exchange. Fey: It has been said that to write is to live forever. Martin: The man who wrote that... is dead.
:33: Jennifer Aniston is in the running with Robert Pattinson for most awkward presenter of the evening. Her "acting" casual was really distracting. (Just goes to show, folks, the woman can't act.) But Jack Black saved their performance by explaining how he makes money off doing animation: "Each year I do one Dreamworks project, then I take all my money to the Oscars and bet it on PIXAR!"
:40: Kunio Kato wins for Animated Short Film (La Maison En Petite Cubes) and has difficulty thanking people in English. He does it well, but you can tell he hears how broken his English is because he winces every time he starts a sentence with "thank you." So once he's reached the end, he adds, "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto."Funniest. Thing. Ever. Just like Josh Brolin, I couldn't stop laughing.
1:01: Ben Stiller presents the Cinematography award with Natalie Portman... as the never-named but much-alluded to Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix quit acting to become an actor, and here Stiller claims he wants to stop being known as the funny guy. And then during the reciting of the nominees, he walks around on stage.
1:12: Seth Rogen and James Franco star as their Pineapple Express characters in a Judd Apatow short film where the guys watch the films which haven't been nominated -- and, of course, they're comedies. (Ha! Take that you pretentious academy!) When they watch an intense scene from The Reader, they burst into laughter.
Franco: When I watch movies, I want to be intellectually stimulated... or watch young boys have sex with Nazis.
Franco: (While watching Tropic Thunder) Who do you think is a better actor -- Ronald Reagan or Barack Obama? Rogen: That's... that's Robert Downey Jr.
Rogen: (While holding an Oscar statue) Do you think I could make this into a pipe?
1:22: There's an unnecessary musical medley... not that I didn't like it, I just thought it was inappropriate for the Oscars. Of course, this was a tribute to musicals that were adapted into films (The Sound of Music, Singing in the Rain, Chicago, Grease), with the best moment belonging to the juxtaposing mix of Jesus Christ Superstar's downtrodden "I Don't Know How to Love Him" with Hairspray's upbeat "You Can't Stop the Beat." More importantly, at 1:25, Zac Efron finally comes into the light. (Holy crap, has he been on the stage the whole time?) I geek out a bit because the thought of High School Musical at the Oscars blows my mind. Interestingly, this was put together by Baz Luhrman.
1:35: Cuba Gooding Jr. yells at Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder. "Aren't you outta your mind?!?" I grow uncomfortable... and pray that the Oscars never let Gooding back on their stage again.
1:38: Heath Ledger wins for Best Supporting Actor. And all is right in the world. His family accept the award, and their speech is composed but still touching. (Adrien Brody is visibly moved. Or stoned.)
1:43: Bill Maher shamelessly plugs his documentary. I want to slap him in the face.
1:46: Ever the entertainer, Philippe Petit (Man on Wire) balances an Oscar statue on his chin as everyone looks on in amazement.
2:32: A. R. Rahman wins for his original song "Jai Ho" for Slumdog Millionaire. He offers this beautiful line: "All my life, I had the choice between hate and love. I chose love, and here I am."
2:41: Queen Latifah sings "I'll Be Seeing You" during the montage of all those who passed during the past year (ending on Paul Newman -- it always surprises me by how worked up I get by his death). But everyone claps. I thought the point of having Latifah there was so people wouldn't show favoritism through their applause...?
2:57: Five previous Best Actress winners (Sophia Loren, Shirley MacLane, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, and Halle Berry) appear on the stage... and everyone stands and applauds. You know, for an entire industry who tries to maintain a patriarchal order -- these five women brought an entire audience to their feet, whistling and yelling and clapping at their brilliance. It certainly seems like this is the biggest award of the night. (Seriously, any one of these actresses -- other than Angelina Jolie -- could have honestly won.) After MacLane presents to Anne Hathaway, there's a cut to fellow nominee Meryl Streep, which I thought was nice because Streep looked like the proud mother of her Devil Wears Prada co-star.
2:58: But the best part is Marion Cotillard's thanks to Kate Winslet that really made me happy. She was actually humbled and sincerely grateful for Winslet and her body of work, for her courage and beauty. Cotillard was crying more than Winslet, and Winslet was earnestly touched by Cotillard's appreciation. And then... Kate Winslet wins, and everyone cheers "FINALLY!"
Because I despise Valentine's Day -- a $14.7 billion capitalist market that reminds me that we're little more than consumer-sheep -- I am posting some of romantic comedy clichés that Entertainment Weekly would like to require. There are 24 in all, but I've posted the ones that especially grate on my nerves. Also, you may have in the past picked up on the subtleties of my disdain for romantic comedies, and I'm always ready to post anything anti-rom-com related. So happy Valentine's Day. It's great to love somebody, but -- like this list notes -- it's not great to be cliché.
MEDIA MAVENS She's smart, she's sassy, and her mistakes can be captured in print or on film. Her job can take her anywhere, introduce her to anyone. Occasionally, she has deadlines.
EXAMPLE: In 13 Going on 30, Jenna (Jennifer Garner) is an editor at a women's magazine that needs to be redesigned, so she calls on her old friend Matty the photographer (Mark Ruffalo).
SEE ALSO: Writers in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Devil Wears Prada, Never Been Kissed, Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally..., and Hitch; Talk/news-show employees in Little Black Book, Someone Like You, Bridget Jones's Diary, and Knocked Up.
WORKING GIRL...NEEDS BALANCE
EXAMPLE: We're gonna have to quote EW critic Lisa Schwarzbaum here, because we weren't paid to see New in Town: ''Renee Zellweger teeters in high heels as a brittle singleton executrix who relocates to a Fargo-adjacent burg and discovers the virtues of 'square' Christian values.''
SEE ALSO: The ad exec-turned-baby applesauce maker (Diane Keaton) in Baby Boom; the home swappers (Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet) in The Holiday; the big-city fashion designer (Reese Witherspoon) who returns to her roots and coon dog cemetery in Sweet Home Alabama; and the movie star (Julia Roberts) who's just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her (side note: worst line EVER) in Notting Hill.
CLUMSY HEROINES Apparently, the best/easiest way to make a woman seem vulnerable/single is to have her fall on her butt or walk face-first into something. The pratfall epidemic is truly painful.
EXAMPLE: In Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget (Renée Zellweger) slides down a firemen's pole onto her bottom (and a camera); in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, she parachutes into a pigpen and slides off the roof while spying on Mark (Colin Firth).
SEE ALSO: Jessica Alba in Good Luck Chuck; Amanda Bynes in What a Girl Wants; Drew Barrymore in Never Been Kissed; Monica Potter in Head Over Heels; Hilary Swank in P.S. I Love You; Anna Faris in The House Bunny; Brittany Murphy in Little Black Book; and Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries.
SCHLUBBY GUY, PRETTY GIRL* A close cousin to the ''Fat Guy, Skinny Wife'' rule of sitcoms, this applies to movies where a superhot girl falls for a guy totally below her league because she learns what a nice guy he is. When was the last time a schlubby girl got a hot guy?
EXAMPLE: Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) wins the heart of uberbabe Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) in Knocked Up.
SEE ALSO: Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah in Roxanne; and Kevin James and Amber Valletta in Hitch.
* Of course, my male students find absolutely nothing wrong with this because, and I quote, "nobody wants to look at ugly people." Kevin James isn't exactly a Greek god...
I'VE NOTHING TO WEAR... Rom-coms and fashion go together like horror movies and blood, so it's no surprise that the majority of them include a scene in which a character tries on a series of outfits in front of giggling friends, helpful salespeople, or smitten lovers.
EXAMPLE: Jane (Katherine Heigl) shows Kevin (James Marsden) her entire wardrobe of bridesmaid dresses in 27 Dresses.
Over the weekend, my friend Adam and I went to see the film Coraline, a stop-animation children's fantasy based on a book by science-fiction/fantasy author Neil Gaiman. Visually, the film is amazing -- better, I think, than either The Corpse Bride or The Nightmare Before Christmas. (I can say this because Coraline is made by the same team -- Laika -- headed by director Henry Selick. It's not a comparison of artistic genius, but more of a comment on how stop-animation has evolved and survived in this world that is so reliant on CGI effects.) In fact, the opening title sequence may be my favorite part; we see a doll being ripped apart and then sewn into the Coraline doll that follows our protagonist throughout the narrative. It's slightly creepy because we only see the machine-like hands of the sewer, but it's also kind of whimsical in the way that the doll is constructed and then sent out the window.
The basic plotline of the film is this: A young girl, Coraline (not Carolyn or Caroline!), moves into a new house with her dismissive and boring parents. They would rather write a book on gardening than pay any attention to their daughter. One night, Coraline finds a secret passage into an alternate world where her "other mother" is nurturing and kind, knows how to cook, and plants a garden in her honor. But not everything is as peachy as it seems, and, as the poster warns, be careful what you wish for.
Overall, I enjoyed the film -- at least well enough to recommend it to anyone. The highlights for me included the opening title sequence (in which see machine-like hands sew together a doll in Coraline's likeness), a song by They Might Be Giants (which can be heard in its entirety on iTunes), and Coraline's initial exploration into this alternate world. In one particularly enchanting scene in the alternate realm, Coraline attends a performance by Mrs. Spink and Forcible, the other attendees being their hundreds of dead Scottie dogs in angel costumes. This universe is very inventive, and I found myself envious of a candelabra that dispenses mango milkshakes and a garden of tickling snapdragons. And in an aerial view of the garden, we see that it too is in the likeness of Coraline, where the bridge of a pond because the bridge of Coraline's nose. (Does this repeated image of Coraline mean that this girl is narcissistic? If I were surrounded by a world that was that interested me, I would be completely creeped out.) Perhaps this ambiguous border between seduction and terror is what discomforts me about the movie. This world is supposed to be enticing, but the entire time I'm thinking Get out of there!
Two other things that bothered me: One, during the climax of the film, Coraline goes on a hunt around her "other mother's" house to find the souls of previous children (which is odd in of itself), and it becomes blatantly apparent that they had children's video games in mind. Even the animation changes; not drastically, just in the fluidity and mobility of the camera's movements. As Coraline goes on this hunt, so do we, and it's like we're playing a video game. I didn't find this very appealing because, first, I don't care for video games, and second, if media genres are going to intersect, the hybridity should be seamless. And two, the other thing that bothered me is that there was no strong resolution at the end. Spoiler alert: Her parents don't exactly treat her better. We see them in the garden offering drinks to neighbors, but do we really get a sense that they care about Coraline or will pay any attention to her in the future? I kind of felt like she was trapped in this world of nonexistent love, but that's okay because the alternative is so much worse. Umm...
Its look and mood may remind adult viewers at various times of the dreamscapes of Tim Burton (with whom Mr. Selick worked on “Nightmare”), Guillermo del Toro and David Lynch. Like those filmmakers Mr. Selick is interested in childhood not as a condition of sentimentalized, passive innocence but rather as an active, seething state of receptivity in which consciousness itself is a site of wondrous, at times unbearable drama.
The governing emotion, at the beginning, is loneliness. A smart, brave girl named Coraline Jones, voiced by Dakota Fanning, has recently moved from Michigan to an apartment in a big pink Victorian house somewhere in Oregon. She is at an age when the inadequacy of her parents starts to become apparent, and Coraline’s stressed-out, self-absorbed mom and dad (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman), who write about gardening, barely look up from their computer screens when she’s in the room. And so, like many a children’s book heroine before her, Coraline sets out to explore her curious surroundings, interweaving the odd details of everyday reality with the bright threads of imagination.
People sometimes dismiss It's a Wonderful Life as only a Christmas classic, merely an NBC Christmas Eve staple, without really reflecting upon it's message. And if one hasn't grown up watching the film every Christmas Eve like I have, then one might not even be able to recognize why this gem has a place in everyone's heart. For instance, one IMDB poster called it "sentimental hogwash," and someone I know once called it "trite conservative propaganda." But these people are clearly caught up in the spectacle and popularity of the film, and they're not really paying attention to the brilliant script (it's funnier than most people remember) and the fantastic performances by James Stewart (in arguably his greatest role), Lionel Barrymore, and Henry Travers. Does the film have its flaws? Of course -- Mary would have married Sam Wainwright before becoming an old maid, and if Harry hadn't saved the lives of everyone on that transport, someone else would have. But the flaws in the "what ifs" are so minor when compared to the overall message that they can (and should) be overlooked.
It's no secret that this movie is my favorite film of all time. I grew up watching this film, and I identified and related to George Bailey, a young subscriber of National Geographic who wanted to travel and see the world. And the underlying reminder of my mortality resonated with me even as a child to the point that, as rash or abrupt as they may be, I determine most of my choices based on the idea that I could be gone tomorrow. Is the movie conservative? Of course, it emphasizes family values and the need to preserve small business (as to escape the inevitable globalized Pottersville metaphor). Is the movie sappy? Of course, but being sentimental doesn't have to be a bad thing. So here, below, I've listed just some of the reasons why It's a Wonderful Life is more than just a Christmas movie and why it should be everyone's favorite film.
10 Reasons to Love It's a Wonderful Life
10.Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.
Okay, this line is kind of corny, and director Frank Capra certainly made sure to get the most adorable little girl to play Zuzu. But the reason why this line is so effective is not because of Zuzu but because of George's response. He says softly, "That's right, that's right. Attaboy, Clarence," and he winks to the heavens. One of the smartest things this film did was portray God and the other angels as stars (as opposed to men in white robes hanging out on fluffy white clouds) because it allows the viewer to feel like someone is always watching over them, that stars can hear their prayers. Stars represent a physical means for believing in angels, and I think, as sappy as it is, that's such a wonderful representation. So when George winks to the ceiling (remember, it's nighttime outside), we know that he's really winking to the stars, and to one star in particular who now has his wings. And the above line is quoted so often not because people believe every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings, but because we're grown accustomed to the angel Clarence, and, like George, we are proud that he was recognized for the world he showed us.
9.I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow, and the next day, and the next year, and the year after that. I'm shakin' the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. Then, I'm comin' back here to go to college and see what they know. And then I'm gonna build things. I'm gonna build airfields, I'm gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I'm gonna build bridges a mile long.
George gives this wonderful speech to Mary after his throws a rock at the old Granville house. And this speech is a lot more meaningful than people realize. George is talking about seeing the world, and it's not just that he wants to leave Bedford Falls, it's that he knows there's an entire world out there that he wants to see. This becomes relevant at the end of the movie when -- as hokey as it sounds -- Bedford Falls, his family, and his friends become his world. No, George doesn't get to build airfields and skyscrapers, but he does get to build Bailey Park, a residential area for families (such as the Gowers) to rest. And the brilliant part about this speech is that it's right outside of the Granville house, which they later move into, and while George is building scale models of buildings and bridges, Mary is the one who is refurbishing that building into a home. George's mind is constantly outside of Bedford Falls, and all he can think about is what he didn't do rather than all that he's accomplished. This speech is so uplifting in the moment that you almost forget how trapped he will feel later, but this speech is a reminder that sometimes your reality is just as good as your dreams.
8.Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about... they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn't think so. People were human beings to him. But to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they're cattle. Well, in my book he died a much richer man than you'll ever be.
Here's another one of Jimmy Stewart's fantastic speeches (see also: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Harvey). I can honestly say there will never be another Jimmy Stewart, though Hollywood likes to cast Tom Hanks in that role. There will be other Clark Gables and Cary Grants, but there won't be another actor like Jimmy Stewart with his aw-shucks charm and boy-next-door demeanor. Stewart doesn't play this speech with anger but with honesty. Potter is a crooked old man, and with repeat viewings, you will find yourself cheering during this speech. (I'm not going to lie; I sometimes clap when watching this scene.) And, of course, the final line ties back into the larger motif of the film; like his father, George will grow to be "the richest man in town."
7.Why don't you kiss her instead of talking her to death? Ah, youth is wasted on the wrong people.
This entire scene (see previous post for the video) makes you believe in love again. At 38, I don't know if Stewart quite passes off realistically as college-aged, but that's no matter. Donna Reed is absolutely glowing in this scene (thanks to a soft focus), but why wouldn't she be when opposite the most charming man in the world? There are plenty of fantastic lines in this scene, the least of which is "This is a very interesting situation!" There's just something about the way Stewart delivers that line that makes me crack up, and the following dialogue is quite hilarious. After Mary drops her robe and hides behind the hydrangea bushes, George considers selling tickets to the spectacle. "George Bailey, I'm ashamed of you! I'm going to tell your mother." "Oh, she's way down the street." But the line that everyone remembers is the cranky old neighbor who scoffs at their flirtation. He doesn't seem like the romantic type himself, which is what makes his delivery of "youth is wasted on the wrong people" so funny, but it's George's defensive response that really sells the scene: "You want me to kiss her? Hey, come back here. I'll show you some kissing that'll make your head spin!"
6. The kiss.
Watch the scene above. Then remind yourself to breathe. Then repeat. Famously, this scene actually had a lot left out. As the story goes, Stewart and Reed were so caught up in the scene that they skipped over eight pages of dialogue, and to the screenwriter's dismay, Capra accepted this scene in only one take, and it's the final version you see in the film. This kiss is intense -- for 1946 and 2008 -- because it's impassioned and frightening and romantic all at the same time. It's hot and cold, dangerous and safe, scary but rewarding. Mary's been waiting for this moment, and it comes just after George declares he never wants to get married. Most people list this as one of the most romantic kisses in cinema, and I certainly wouldn't argue against that, but there's also a darkness to this scene that I think indicates the troubles ahead for George. He's not settling for Mary and I don't believe he's giving up on himself, but I do think George is well-aware of the conflicts inherent in his decision to be with her.
5.Is this the ear you can't hear in? George Bailey, I'll love you 'til the day I die.
Okay, this scene just makes me happy. Young Mary is adorable. This scene also brings us the oft-quoted (as least for me) line, "You don't like coconut? Say brainless, don't you know where coconuts come from?" You'd be surprised how applicable that line is to many situations.
4.My mouth's bleeding, Bert! My mouth's bleeding! Zuzu's petals... Zuzu...
This scene is really fantastic because George isn't just happy to be alive, and it's not until he's running through Bedford Falls that he's thankful that Pottersville is no more. This scene is actually about the family, and like so much of this film, there are layers that allude and reference other parts of the film. George is happy because Bert recognizes him, that his old and dear friend remembers him. He's happy because he still has Zuzu's petals, even though those petals represent Zuzu's sickness and the earlier altercation between George and Zuzu's teacher's husband. Those petals symbolize George's life -- decaying and with a hint of sadness and bitterness, and yet they're so beautiful. And Zuzu loves those petals. And thus George loves those petals because he loves Zuzu. And again, this is a really strong performance from Stewart. He is genuinely ecstatic to come home to his family, even if it means going to jail, because they are the bridges and skyscrapers that make up his life's greatest work.
3.Every man on that transport died! Harry wasn't there to save them, because you weren't there to save Harry.
Now, as I mentioned earlier, there are some flaws in the "what if" scenarios that Clarence constructs. If Harry hadn't lived, someone else probably would have been the hero and saved the people on the transport. But still, this scene has the greatest lesson from the entire movie. It's not necessarily about family or having friends (although that's certainly part of it), but that on a much smaller, almost always overlooked note, it's the little things that we do that make up the narrative of humanity. George saved Harry from the broken ice because Harry was his brother. He didn't even think twice about it. And this is an idea that escapes me much too often, that people think of me when I'm not around, that I somehow make a dent in someone else's life. It may be small, and it may be minor, but my very existence -- just walking around, just having conversations -- makes a difference. I think people generally like to see change instantly, rewarded instantly for their efforts. But sometimes our biggest moments are actually small ones, and we might never know how we changed the world just by being in it.
2.Clarence Oddbody, AS2.
Clarence Oddbody, Angel Second Class, doesn't appear until almost thirty minutes are left in the film, and yet Henry Travers's presence is so memorable that you'd think he was in the entire film. Not only is Travers hysterically simple-minded (thank God Capra didn't make Clarence an omnipotent or arrogant goody-goody), but some of the film's best lines involve him. I, for one, love sarcastic George Bailey. "Well, you look about the kind of angel I'd get. Sort of a fallen angel, aren't you," he asks when he first meets Clarence. And then when they're walking back to his car, he tells Clarence, "We'll stroll up to my car and get... Oh, I'm sorry. I'll stroll. You fly." And of course, the funniest Clarence gag is when George calls him Gabriel. There's such an honesty in their relationship that when Clarence does weird things (like order an old-time drink), George still defends him despite his peculiarity. And by the end of the movie, I think everyone wants a Clarence of their own.
1.A toast to my big brother George: The richest man in town.
There are just some scenes from movies that make me cry without even needing to have seen the rest of the film, and this is at the top of that list. I can't even hear this line without misting up. And what makes this scene so magical and truly wonderful is that when Harry says this line, everyone in the room roars in a communal love. They know, just as well as we know, that Harry's not talking about money, and George's reaction is one of heartfelt sincerity. Scenes like this just aren't made anymore. Now, if a movie is trying to be profound or thought-provoking, it tells you. But this scene just unfolds so naturally, and it truly becomes a celebration for life. This scene -- and this movie -- reminds us that, even with all of its hardships and struggles and compromises, it really is a wonderful life.
The following images are from Baz Luhrmann's upcoming film Australia, and the images are courtesy of Glam, which I can only assume is a fashion magazine.
Australia is an epic and romantic action adventure, set in that country on the explosive brink of World War II. In it, an English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) travels to the faraway continent, where she meets a rough-hewn local (Hugh Jackman) and reluctantly agrees to join forces with him to save the land she inherited. Together, they embark upon a transforming journey across hundreds of miles of the world's most beautiful yet unforgiving terrain, only to still face the bombing of the city of Darwin by the Japanese forces that attacked Pearl Harbor. With his new film, Baz Luhrmann is painting on a vast canvas, creating a cinematic experience that brings together romance, drama, adventure and spectacle.
And from Film School Rejects, here are some more images -- but I have to wonder, is the cinematographer Steve McCurry? (Answer: No -- but the styles are certainly similar.)
John at The Movie Blog took on the daunting task of listing the Top 100 Movies Based on Books. The list is quite extensive, but below are a few of the notable picks:
#96 - THE SHINING Rotten Tomatoes Rating - 86% Synopsis: A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future. John’s Thought: Iconic film with some of the most quoted one liners from a horror film in history. My Thought: The movie's fantastic, but it's not very close to the book...
#79 - FULL METAL JACKET Rotten Tomatoes Rating - 96% Synopsis: Full Metal Jacket begins by following the trials and tribulations of a platoon of fresh Marine Corps recruits focusing on the relationship between Gunnery Sergeant Hartman and Privates Pyle and Joker. We see Pyle grow into an instrument of death as Hartman has forseen of all of his recruits. Through Pyle’s torment and Joker’s unwillingness to stand up against it the climax of part one is achieved with all three main characters deciding their fates by their action or inaction. The second chapter of Full Metal Jacket delves into Joker’s psyche and the repeated referal to the fact that he joined the Corps to become a killer. When his mostly behind the scenes job as a combat correspondant is interfered with by the Tet offensive he is thrust into real combat and ultimately must choose if he really is a killer. John’s Thought: Not many people agree with me, but I think this was easily Stanley Kubrick’s best movie. My Thought: If by "easily" the best John means most accessible, then I can agree. But 2001, The Shining, Spartacus, and Dr. Strangelove are all classics in their genre for a reason.
#75 - FORREST GUMP Rotten Tomatoes Rating - 72% Synopsis: Forrest, Forrest Gump is a simple man with little brain activity but good intentions. He struggles through childhood with his best and only friend Jenny. His ‘mama’ teaches him the ways of life and leaves him to choose his destiny. Forrest joins the army for service in Vietnam, finding new friends called Dan and Bubba, he wins medals, starts a table tennis craze, creates a famous shrimp fishing fleet, inspires people to jog, create the smiley, write bumper stickers and songs, donating to people and meeting the president several times. However this is all irrelevant to Forrest who can only think of his childhood sweetheart Jenny. Who has messed up her life. Although in the end all he wants to prove is that anyone can love anyone John’s Thought: A movie of a less than ordinary person who lives an extraordinary life. Great film, but no way in hell it should have beat out Shawshank Redemption for best picture that year. My Thought: First, I didn't know this film was based a book, and second, I understand that Shawshank is sort of the new Godfather for men, but Forrest Gump is beyond brilliant.
#68 - THE ENGLISH PATIENT Rotten Tomatoes Rating - 84% Synopsis: A burn victim, a nurse, a thief, and a sapper find themselves in each others company in an old Italian villa close to the end of World War II. Through flashbacks, we see the life of the burn victim, whose passionate love of a woman and choices he made for her ultimately change the lives of one other person in the villa. Not only is this film a search for the identity of the English patient, but a search for the identities of all the people in the quiet old villa. John’s Thought: A lot of people found this dry and slow, but I thought it hit every note perfectly. My Thought: Again, one of my favorite movies, but not that close to the book... the book is all about Hannah, who has very little screen time (compared to K, that is).
#44 - KISS KISS, BANG BANG Rotten Tomatoes Rating - 83% Synopsis: A noir send-up. A narrator introduces himself at a Hollywood party: he’s Harry Lockhart, a thief from New York, in L.A. for a screen test. He meets Gay Perry, a glitzy private eye who’s to school him for his role; there’s Harmony Lane, a wannabe actress whose time has passed; the host is an aging actor who starred in detective movies, plus his daughter, with starlet looks and a choppy past. The next day, Gay and Harry stake out a house where Gay is to take surreptitious photographs for a client - what they find is a corpse. From there, twists and connections abound and bodies pile up. Who’s double-crossing whom? And, has Harry found Harmony too late to save himself from misery? John’s Thought: This movie ranks right up there with Bubba Ho-Tep where the fact that it never got a wide release should be considered a crime against humanity. Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer were both just amazing in this flick. My Thought: Easily one of the best films of the 2000s. This was Downey's starring vehicle for his big comeback, and his performance here beats Tropic Thunder and Iron Man -- oh, yes, I did just say that.
#30 - 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Rotten Tomatoes Rating - 91% Synopsis: This movie is concerned with intelligence as the division between animal and human, then asks a question; what is the next division? Technology is treated as irrelevant to the quest - literally serving as mere vehicles for the human crew, and as a shell for the immature HAL entity. Story told as a montage of impressions, music and impressive and careful attention to subliminal detail. A very influential film and still a class act, even after 25 years. John’s Thought: There are parts of this film that still confuse the hell out of me. My Thought: I've said this before and I'll say it again... the death of HAL is the saddest death in the history of cinema. "Daisy, daisy..."
#19 - DIE HARD Rotten Tomatoes Rating - 96% Synopsis: Tough New York cop John McClane finds himself in a tight situation when an office building in Los Angeles is taken over by terrorists. Apart from himself, everyone else in the building - including his wife - is held at gunpoint while their captors spell out their demands. The F.B.I. are called in to survey the situation, but John McClane has other plans for the terrorists… John’s Thought: Betcha didn’t know this was based on a book. Yeah neither did I at first. My Thought: Nope. I didn't know that. I wonder if the book is in first person?
#9 - THE PRINCESS BRIDE Rotten Tomatoes Rating - 95% Synopsis: When the lovely Buttercup is kidnapped by a ghastly gang intent on fermenting an international incident they find they are pursued by the Dread Pirate Roberts who just might be Westley, her one true love. Also after everyone is nasty Prince Humperdinck to whom Buttercup is now betrothed but who seems to care little for her continued survival. The stage is set for swordfights, monsters, and tortures - but will Grandpa be allowed to finish telling the story with all these kissy bits? John’s Thought: One of the most special movies ever made that is nothing short of pure magic. Holds a special place in the hearts of a lot of people. My Thought: The interesting thing about this film is that it's about a sick boy whose grandfather reads him a story. And yet this film replaced storytime for me when I was sick. This film about a book (and based on a book) ushered in a new medium for preferred imagination.
And then not surprisingly, John puts all three of the Lord of the Ring movies in his TOP 5, and puts The Godfather and The Shawshank Redemption at numbers 2 and 3, respectively. LotR: Return of the King took the #1 spot... which underwhelms me... what a predictably masculine choice.
People in the comments have noted the absences of Jurassic Park, Gone with the Wind, Fight Club, To Kill a Mockingbird, and American Psycho, all of which I agree need to be on this list. But I don't recommend reading the comments because most of these people are idiots and do not know how to intelligently criticize a list. Also, where is Atonement?
Yes, I've been absent for a week and a half, but this is the busiest time of the semester for me, and I'm only now just catching my breath. Tomorrow I plan to take on the huge task of giving a mid-season review of my favorite shows -- Chuck, House, The Mentalist, Bones, The Office, 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy, Dexter, Desperate Housewives, Big Bang Theory, and How I Met Your Mother (yes, I do watch a lot of television) -- so you will have that to enjoy tomorrow. As for NOW, however, enjoy this absolutely delightful Youtube video of two guys spoiling the ends of movies. Most people know that I don't mind spoilers -- going to the movies is about the experience of show-telling, not about the end result of the narrative -- so I don't think spoilers actually "spoil" the emotional impact of a film (at least, they shouldn't). But if you don't mind spoilers or you've seen a lot of movies, I highly recommend watching this. My favorite part is, as is mentioned in the title, them making fun of Meg Ryan romances, but I also enjoyed all the ways Kevin Spacey dies in his movies. Very well structured.
Update: My friend Jessica has informed me of some incorrect information. In City of Angels, Meg Ryan dies -- not Nicolas Cage. Still, the segment's funny. (P.S. Nicolas Cage sucks.)
My addictive pop culture foe, Entertainment Weekly, has another list out. This time it lists the worst lines of dialogue from films. Wait, this is something I can actually get behind.
There's "I'm just a girl standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her" from Notting Hill (which, let's be honest, is a God-awful line that is delivered well by Julia Roberts) and "Love means never having to say I'm sorry" from Love Story, which sends all sorts of wrong messages about love. (No, you really should apologize.) I don't care for some of their other choices -- like Baby's line "I carried a watermelon" from Dirty Dancing which is appropriately and justifiably awkward. But the list includes my second least favorite line of all time: "She rescues him right back" -- the closing lines from Pretty Woman. There are so many reasons why I'm anti-Pretty Woman, yet I've seen it about twenty times and continue to watch it if I ever happen across it on TV. (Damn you TNT and your constant repeats!)
So if that's my second least favorite line... what's the worst? Hands down, no question about it: "Nice boys don't kiss like that," "Oh yes, they fucking do" from Bridget Jones's Diary. I'm sorry... what did he say? The ending of that movie rings so untrue to me (he leaves to buy her a new journal without telling her...?), and those closing lines just confirm that Hollywood trite will find its way into any Jane Austen adaptation. That line goes completely against Mr. Darcy/Mark Darcy's character and it's just so... ugh.
So hmm... what are some of the best lines of dialogues? Let me know if you have any suggestions, but I certainly think these are top notch:
"But... it goes to eleven." -- from This is Spinal Tap, also entirely usable in life. Example: "On an Awesome scale of 1-10, I go to 11."
"Inconceivable!" "I do not think that word means what you think it means." -- best delivery EVER, The Princess Bride, and you can certainly use these lines (and certainly this whole scene) in almost every situation.
"To my big brother George, the richest man in town." -- from my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life. This line alone makes me cry.
"Daisy... Daisy..." -- from my other favorite movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Perhaps one of the saddest deaths in cinema.
"Fra-gee-lay. It must be Italian." -- it's impossible to pick a favorite from A Christmas Story.
Umm, Robin Williams's entire speech by the lake in Good Will Hunting
"My real name is plain Jane Jones." -- from Closer, though it's difficult to understand the gravitas and sadness of this deceptively simple line. This scene is brilliant. Also, another great line is Clive Owen's character describing a heart: "A heart is a fist covered in blood!"
"Yipee-kay-ay, mother fucker!" -- from, of course, Die Hard. There are a lot of great lines from this, but I certainly use this line whenever I have a feeling of accomplishment. Or, if I'm around children, I censor it as TBS does: "Yipee-kay-ay, melon farmer!"
"It's for me." -- closing lines from The Lives of Others. Perhaps one of my favorite last lines of a film. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this movie. I think it's the best movie made in the last 25 years, and it's my third favorite movie. It's a film that really sticks with you. -- HGW XX/7.
"Sometimes there just aren't enough rocks." -- from Forrest Gump, another deceptively profound lines. I swear, I learned more about love and life from Forrest Gump than I did my own life. (By the way, I think Tom Hanks won his second consecutive Oscar because of one particular scene -- the scene where Jenny and him are dancing and the camera pulls back through a window into the outside rain. Hanks is Gump in that moment.)
"He was my father. And my mother... my brother... my friend. He was you... and me. He was all of us." -- from V for Vendetta. Not going to lie. I saw this movie with about 15 people and I left them without explanation so that I could go cry in my car for a good thirty minutes. This movie really spoke to me, and holy cow, V has my two favorite paintings in his lair.
"Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in." -- from American Beauty. People tend to think of this movie as overrated, but that's one of the consequences for being brilliant and then other people noticing that brilliance. Is it pretentious? Maybe, but that's such an unfortunate word to apply to this movie. I heart this movie.
Hmm, perhaps I'm getting carried away here. There are certainly some great scripts out there. But these are lines that effect me emotionally -- they embody the essence of that film and my relationship to that film.
Alan Sepinwall recently posted something similar. He asked what pop culture dialogue makes it into everyone's daily lives, and he received 110 comments -- and counting! Below are some highlights from (some earlier) comments on his post:
Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "Bring out your dead" becomes "Bring out your laundry" or "Bring out your recycling", etc.
The Simpsons: "Oh Lisa, it's not that I don't understand, it's just that I don't care."
Arrested Development: "Her?" "I think I just blue myself." "COME ON!" "STEVE HOLT!" "I'm an ideas man, Michael. I think I proved that with Fuck Mountain."
The Big Lebowski: "This is not Nam. This is (insert word). There are rules."
As far as pop culture in everyday lives, I think I say "He's a clean old man" (A Hard Day's Night) and "This is a very inter-esting situation" (It's a Wonderful Life) fairly often, and I'm going to try and incorporate the following line into my common vernacular: "He irks me. He's irksome." (The Mentalist). Perhaps on another day I'll post all of my favorite lines from 30 Rock. I seriously should make an effort to quote that show every day. I wish my life were like an episode of 30 Rock -- BLERG!
The Big Bang Theory: This is obviously not a review but my favorite quotes from Monday night's episode. From what I hear, Sara Gilbert's character will be getting romantically involved with her arch-nemesis, Sheldon. Normally I hate the despised cliché of two-people-hate-each-other-but-really-love-each-other (because really, sometimes different sexes really do just hate each other), but because this show is a comedy and because it's those two, this idea is really funny to me.
Penny: AFK? Sheldon: Away from keyboard. Penny: Oh, I see. Sheldon: And what does that stand for? Penny: Oh. I. See. Sheldon: Yes... but what does it mean?
That Awkward Guy: What the frak?
Cinematical brings you the funniest ladies of 2008. I definitely agree with #7 Elizabeth Banks (she was hilarious on Scrubs), #4 Amy Poehler (loved her in Blades of Glory -- she and her real-life husband Will Arnette are hysterical together), #2 Sarah Silverman (her politically incorrect political short film is hilarious), and of course, #1 Tiny Fey (she did just win her second consecutive Outstanding Actress for a Comedy Series Emmy).
I'm glad to see that other people love Chuck as much as I do. Both Film School Rejects and Alan Sepinwall loved Monday night's episode, which was apparently an allusion to My Favorite Year.
Lastly, I recently saw Raging Bull -- AFI's current #4 greatest film of all time. I hated it. It was two and a half hours of blatant misogyny and violence. I love violence don't me wrong, but the whole point behind sports movies is that we root for the underdog. Robert de Niro may have won an Oscar for his performance, but it doesn't make his character (based on a real boxer) any less of a douchebag. Seriously, how could Scorsese make a movie about a guy with zero redeeming qualities??
The British Film Institute, in celebration of their 75th Anniversary, asked 75 people from various professions and backgrounds in the industry to each pick a movie that they would most like to share with future generations. It wasn’t limited to British films, and the idea was to get a good cross-section of what people consider to be a timeless “classic”. You can see the full list here, but I've included some below.
The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo) Billy Elliot (Stephen Daldry) * Blade Runner (Ridley Scott) *** Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn) *** Cabaret (Bob Fosse) *** Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee) Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick) ** Empire of the Sun (Steven Spielberg) The Fog of War (Errol Morris) Friday Night Lights (Peter Berg, Josh Pate) * The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola) ** Great Expectations (David Lean) A Hard Day’s Night (Richard Lester) -- "He's not your grandfather! I've seen your grandfather!" Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean) ** Metropolis (Fritz Lang) *** Otto e mezzo (Federico Fellini) ** Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino) *** Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese) Raising Arizona (Joel and Ethan Coen) **** The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman) ** Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly) ** Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick) ** The Third Man (Carol Reed) ** Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock) ** West Side Story (Robert Wise) *** The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming) *** The Women (George Cukor)
* While I love it, is it really a classic? ** Typically, I use the phrase "greatest movie ever" when talking about this movie (whether I've seen it or not). *** Perhaps there should be a distinction between "old" and "new" classic? **** I don't talk to people who like Nicolas Cage.
Oh, snap! Jon Hamm is in this movie. These seven minutes read like an extended trailer with longer scenes, but most of the scenes occur at the beginning of the movie, so instead of showing too much and turning me away, I'm actually more intrigued. I still don't think that this movie needed to be made, but I will make all sorts of justifications for science-fiction. I'm always game for movies that show how relying on technology is bad... "In this case, the less advanced civilization is us." Score one for aliens! And I don't care what anyone says. I like Keanu Reeves.
I just have one question: does the earth standing still have nothing to do with the sun's revolution anymore?
Hamlet 2 is about Dana Marschz (pronounced Mars-z-ch-s) who has to save the drama class from budget cuts by putting on an elaborate play to raise money. Right away, there's a flaw in this because, as everyone knows, the drama department is the first of the arts to get cut, but in the movie it's the last. So Dana, an actor-turned-drama teacher who normally adapts a successful Hollywood movie into a play (you see Erin Brokovich performed at the beginning), decides to write an original work for the end of the semester. He settles on Hamlet 2, despite everyone being dead at the end of the first one, and as the movie develops so does his motivation. He wrote Hamlet 2 as way of forgiving his father. Get it? Jesus and Hamlet are two guys who need to forgive, and Dana plays the rib-tank-and-jeans-wearing Jesus.
The beginning of the movie starts off parodying the drama class stereotype, which includes a repressive homosexual male and an obnoxious do-gooder, who are actually the only two students in the class. With the budget cuts, the Latino population from other arts programs filter into the drama class, but Dead Poet's Society this is not. This movie is not about Dana reforming these kids or having any type of profound influence on their lives. In fact, the movie parodies this too. On the second day of this integration, Dana comes in and says, "I saw a wonderful movie last night. Dangerous Minds. So now I know all about you." And he says in such an obliviously ignorant way the students can't help but laugh at him. He's a joke. Near the end, Dana even makes the revelation, "My life is a parody of a tragedy! My wife left me. The kid's not mine." Hysterical stuff.
So while the students take a backseat to Coogan, the supporting adult players also get their time to shine. Catherine Keener, who knew you were so funny? Early on, at dinner, she has a full two minutes where it's just her talking, and everything she says will rip your sides with laughter. She knows when to pause and when to go for the kill. Why hasn't she displayed this talent before? (And no, 40 Year Old VIrgin doesn't count.) Elizabeth Shue also makes a fantastic cameo,which is actually more than a cameo. She stars as herself who left the business to become a nurse, and while talking to Dana's class about acting, one student asks what she misses about acting. Her response? "Making out with people. You know, really the only bad thing about being a nurse is you don't get to make out with your patients..." And then she trails off to another place and time. She was quite hilarious, especially when she attends the play presumably high. Her childlike wonder was beautifully played.
Is the movie a work of art? Not even close. Do I recommend it? Not exactly. Were some of the jokes forced? Well, yes. But did I laugh out loud during the entire movie? Yes. I even clapped a few times. Scenes worth highlighting are Keener's dinner speech, Coogan's toy-piano impotence-song in the hospital waiting room, the entire play of Hamlet 2 (Jesus moonwalks on water!), and the moment when recovering-alcoholic Dana drinks an entire bottle of Peach Schnapps (although it might as well have been gin or whiskey). This is one of the few movies that I'm actually planning on seeing twice. Possibly more. Dana, who roller skates to work because he can't afford gas, gets stuck in a gravel parking lot and screams, "Gravel is the bane of my existence!" That alone is worth seeing again.
4. Parallels, Puns and Playful Philosophy
_01.jpg)
_NRFPT_01%5B1%5D.jpg)
.jpg)
