List: Movies About Pilots

Posted on November 4, 2012 at 8:00 am

Denzel Washington’s magnificent performance in Flight made me think of some of my other favorite movies about airplane pilots. These are all worth a look:

The Spirit of St. Louis James Stewart was a couple of decades older than Charles Lindburgh was when he made his historic flight across the Atlantic. But he was a decorated pilot himself, and that helps lends authenticity and dedication to this moving portrayal.

The High and the Mighty John Wayne has to save a disabled plane full of passengers in this exciting drama with a haunting musical theme.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm6gRWbYU2k

Red Tails George Lucas produced this story of the Tuskegee Airmen. The on-earth scenes drag a bit but the airplane battles are exciting.

Top Gun This Tom Cruise classic about fighter pilots will make you feel “the need for speed.”

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines A 1910 airplane race takes us back to the days when airplanes were little more than kites with a place to sit in this very funny, exciting, and romantic story.

Always Richard Dreyfuss plays a daring Forest Service pilot in this Steven Spielberg remake of the WII classic, “A Guy Named Joe.”

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Leslie Combernale’s Top 10 Little-Seen Zombie Movies

Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:59 pm

I am not a horror fan, but I still like to read about horror films, and I was delighted to see that my friend and fellow critic Leslie Combernale has put together a list of little-seen zombie films she thinks are deserving of a wider audience. Be sure to take a look at her “School of Rot” list!

Grading School Movies

Posted on September 6, 2012 at 3:39 pm

In honor of the start of the school year, Cinema Blend grades twenty movies about school. Note that the grades were not awarded on artistic merit but on different critera:

sexiness of the hot girls and guys, awesomeness of the cool kids, relatability of the main characters, overall quoteability and overall rewatchability. The five scores in the aforementioned categories were then averaged together to produce an average Hughes. Why an average Hughes? Because no one has ever or will ever do a school movie quite as well as John Hughes.

Note that the criteria did not include actual school elements like time in the classroom or quality of teachers. Indeed, number 1 is a movie about ditching school (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) and number 7 takes place after graduation (Can’t Hardly Wait). But props for including Hogwarts and summer school. But how could they overlook Lucas, If… , The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and My Bodyguard?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmNQVo1qpD8

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Movies About Writers

Posted on September 5, 2012 at 3:46 pm

In honor of this week’s release of “The Words,” the story of a writer who passes off another man’s book as his own, I thought I’d suggest some other movies about writers. Movies are, after all, written by writers, so they understand and are fascinated by people who tell stories.

The Front is another story about a writer taking credit for someone else’s work, but this time it is based on a true story and with the writer’s permission. Woody Allen plays a man who is hired by a blacklisted writer during the McCarthy era to put his name on the other man’s scripts so he can continue to work.

American Splendor is the story of a man who turned his anguished view of life into a series of acclaimed graphic novels.

Shakespeare in Love is not exactly based on the real history of the greatest writer in the English language, but the script by playwright Tom Stoppard includes some insightful and heartfelt moments about the agony and inspiration of the writing life.

Little Women is a fictional version of Louisa May Alcott’s family and the character of Jo March reflects her real-life passion for writing.

Capote won Philip Seymour Hoffman an Oscar for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote as he writes his last great story, the “nonfiction novel” about a brutal real-life murder.

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For Labor Day: Movies About Work

Posted on September 2, 2012 at 8:00 am

For Labor Day, some of my favorite movies about the workplace:

The Pajama Game He (John Riatt — Bonnie’s father) is the new boss at the pajama factory. She (Doris Day) represents the union. Can this relationship work? This tuneful treat features classics like “Hey There” and “Steam Heat.”

Norma Rae Sally Field won an Oscar for her performance in this fact-based story about the fight for the rights of textile workers.

9 to 5 Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, and Dolly Parton star in this story of three women in an office run by an lazy, corrupt, and sexist boss.

Office Space This cult classic about disaffected office workers has some sharp Dilbert-style observations about organizational inefficiency and unfairness.

Working Girl Melanie Griffith and Harrison Ford star in this story of a secretary with ambition and her arrogant, selfish boss. Carly Simon won an Oscar for the theme song, “Let the River Run.”

The Apartment This Best Picture Oscar winner stars Jack Lemmon as an insurance company worker with a chance to advance his career by making his apartment available to executives for their assignations.

Made in Dagenham Sally Hawkins and Miranda Richardson star in this fact-based story of women fighting for equal pay at a Ford plant in England.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Anyone who has worked in an office will tell you that this raucous musical satire of office life is far less exaggerated than it seems.

The Solid Gold Cadillac This witty 1956 comedy about corporate corruption and overpaid executives starring the brilliant Judy Holliday is still valid — if you add three zeroes to all the numbers.

The Closet This French comedy is about a nebbishy numbers guy who is laid off from his job. He lets the bosses think he is gay so that they will be afraid of a discrimination complaint and the attention it brings him teaches him some important lessons.

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