Idol Chatter’s Comfort Movies

Posted on November 19, 2008 at 8:00 am

Kris Rasmussen’s comfort movie list from Idol Chatter is filled with great choices, including You’ve Got Mail (and don’t miss the two earlier versions, The Shop Around the Corner with Jimmy Stewart and In the Good Old Summertime with Judy Garland) and the great television series Slings & Arrows and Gilmore Girls, both with great characters and rich and witty scripts. I’m also a big fan of Die Hard, though I think the second one is the weakest of the series and much prefer the third one, with Samuel L. Jackson and Jeremy Irons.

And you can never find a better movie for any audience or any occasion than the magnificent Finding Nemo.

Some movies are like a sunny day. Last year, when I was working very hard on a difficult project, I watched a lot of classics. Cary Grant can always cheer me up and I love the old MGM musicals. But the movie I had going pretty much 24/7 was…..

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Movie ABC’s

Posted on November 1, 2008 at 4:00 pm

We just looked at long movie titles, so let’s take a look at short ones. The release of “W” inspired NPR’s Bob Mondello to ask whether you could put together an entire alphabet of movies with one-letter titles. Of course there are classics like Fritz Lang’s “M” (Peter Lorre as a serial killer), “X” (Spike Lee’s biographical film about Malcolm X) and “Z” (Costa-Gavras’ searing political film). And the horror films “SSSSSSSSSS” (about a snake) and “Q” (about a flying lizard). “O” is a version of “Othello” set in a high school. Mondello could have added “G,” a version of “The Great Gatsby” set on Long Island.
The other letters gave him trouble — it’s fun to see what he came up with.

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Beliefnet’s Movies about Faith in Love

Posted on October 29, 2008 at 4:00 pm

Idol Chatter has a great post with a list of the best movies about putting your faith in love (and cry in the process). I don’t agree with all of the choices — I find “The Other Sister” and “Stepmom” manipulative and maudlin and while I know “The Notebook” has zillions of passionate fans, it never moved me as much as I wanted it to. But I love the idea of this list and have a few movies to add:

1. “Truly, Madly, Deeply” One of the greatest films ever about love and loss with heart-wrenching performances by Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman.

2. “Brief Encounter” A woman who thinks she is perfectly content with her life finds that she is capable of a deeper love — and a more painful sense of loss — than she ever imagined. See also the underrated “Falling in Love” with Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro.

3. “Sophie’s Choice” Loving someone cannot save them. Streep and Kevin Kline. Get out your hankies.

4. “An Affair to Remember” Watch the shipboard romance and skip through the kids singing but don’t miss that final scene, when Cary Grant finds out why Deborah Kerr wasn’t waiting for him on top of the Empire State Building.

5. “Dark Victory” Bette Davis is a headstrong party girl who finds love with the doctor when it is almost too late. See also “Now Voyager,” where Davis tells the man she loves but cannot be with not to ask for the moon because they have the stars.

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Great Movie Elephants and Donkeys

Posted on September 27, 2008 at 10:00 am

In honor of the upcoming election, a bi-partisan listing of classic movies featuring those two symbols of the political parties, the elephant and the donkey, with a tip of the hat to cartoonist Thomas Nast, who first assigned those animals to the Republicans and the Democrats.

1. Dumbo You’ll believe an elephant can fly in this charming animated Disney classic about the little elephant with big ears (NOTE: some ethnic humor that is insensitive by today’s standards)

2. The Adventures of Francis the Talking Mule WWII-era favorite Francis was an army mule who starred in seven popular comedies.

3. Billy Rose’s Jumbo Jimmy Durante, Doris Day, and Jumbo the elephant star in this circus story.

4. Shrek Eddie Murphy provides the voice for the talkative but loyal sidekick to the lovable ogre.

5. Fantasia Elephant ballerinas appear in one of the segments of this animated classic.

6. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh The anxious Eeyore the donkey is one of the most beloved characters in this movie based on the classic books by A.A. Milne.

7. Horton Hears a Who Tender-hearted Horton the Elephant (voice of Jim Carrey) saves the tiny speck of dust that is the home of the adorable residents of Whoville.

8. Au Hasard Balthazar This lyrical allegory is the story of a donkey-saint.

9. Hatari! Henry Mancini’s famous “Baby Elephant Walk” is one of the highlights of this genial John Wayne adventure-comedy set in Africa.

10. Pinocchio Pinocchio and Lampwick find themselves turning into donkeys when they neglect their responsibilities and families in this Disney animated classic.

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Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Posted on September 19, 2008 at 8:28 am

Arrrrrrrrrrr! Avast me hearties, it be Talk Like a Pirate Day! If you have not read the classic Dave Barry tribute to this most wonderfully silly of holidays, you are in for a treat. Captain Hookjpg
And what better way to celebrate than with some great pirate movies!
1. The Pirates of Penzance The classic Gilbert and Sullivan musical is about an apprentice pirate who cannot leave until his 21st birthday — but was born on Feb 29, so that means he has a long, long time to wait. Completely charming and hilarious with wonderful songs that include “Poor Wandering One” and “A Policeman’s Lot is Not a Happy One.” (All ages)
2. Pirates of the Caribbean Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom broke the curse of the pirate movie with this smash success — improbably based on a theme park ride — that led to two sequels. (10 and up)
3. Shipwrecked Think “Home Alone” with pirates as a couple of kids have to defend an island from pirate leader Gabriel Byrne. (8 and up)
4. Peter Pan Pirate Captain Hook and his faithful sidekick Smee are no match for Peter, Wendy, and the Lost Boys in this Disney classic. (All ages. Note: Some racist and sexist material as typical for its era)
5. Captain Blood No one swashbuckles like Errol Flynn! In one of his most famous roles he plays a wrongfully convicted doctor who escapes and becomes a pirate. (8 and up)